Osama bin Ladenhttp://www.businessinsider.com/category/osama-bin-laden
en-usTue, 31 Mar 2015 18:24:25 -0400Tue, 31 Mar 2015 18:24:25 -0400The latest news on Osama bin Laden from Business Insiderhttp://static3.businessinsider.com/assets/images/bilogo-250x36-wide-rev.pngBusiness Insiderhttp://www.businessinsider.com
http://www.businessinsider.com/documents-from-bin-ladens-compound-detail-al-qaedas-contact-with-the-pakistani-government-2015-3Documents from Bin Laden's compound detail Al Qaeda's contact with the Pakistani governmenthttp://www.businessinsider.com/documents-from-bin-ladens-compound-detail-al-qaedas-contact-with-the-pakistani-government-2015-3
Mon, 09 Mar 2015 17:22:23 -0400Thomas Joscelyn
<p class="p1"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/50e5b8c669bedd210600000e-1200-858/al jazeera osama.jpg" border="0" alt="al jazeera osama bin laden"></p><p>Recently released files recovered in Osama bin Laden’s compound show that parts of the Pakistani government made attempts to negotiate with al Qaeda in 2010. The letters&nbsp;were released&nbsp;as evidence in the trial of Abid Naseer, who&nbsp;was <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/abid-naseer-re-sentenced-no-court-stenographer-present-article-1.2139836"><span class="s1">convicted on terrorism charges</span></a> by a Brooklyn jury earlier this month.</p>
<p class="p1">One of the files is a letter written by Atiyah Abd al Rahman (“Mahmud”), who was then the general manager of al Qaeda, to Osama bin Laden (identified as Sheikh Abu Abdallah) in July 2010. &nbsp;The letter reveals a complicated game involving al Qaeda, the Pakistani Taliban, the brother of Pakistan’s current prime minister, and Pakistan’s intelligence service.</p>
<p class="p1">“Regarding the negotiations, dear Sheikh, I will give you an overview, may God support me in this,” Rahman wrote. “The Pakistani enemy has been corresponding with us and with Tahreek-i-Taliban (Hakeemullah) for a very short time, since the days of Hafiz, may God have mercy on him.” Hakeemullah Mehsud was the head of the Pakistani Taliban at the time. The “Hafiz” mentioned is Mustafa Abu Yazid (Sheikh Saeed al Masri), who served as al Qaeda’s general manager <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2010/05/top_al_qaeda_leader_1.php"><span class="s1">prior to his death</span></a> in May 2010. Rahman succeeded Yazid in that role.</p>
<p class="p1">“We discussed the matter internally, then we talked with Abu-Muhammad later once we were able to resume correspondence with him,” Rahman explained. “Abu-Muhammad” is the nom de guerre of Ayman al Zawahiri.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">As a result of these discussions, al Qaeda was willing to broker a deal in which the jihadists’ would ease off the Pakistanis so long as the military and intelligence services stopped fighting al Qaeda and its allies.</p>
<p class="p1">“Our decision was this: We are prepared to leave you be. Our battle is primarily against the Americans. You became part of the battle when you sided with the Americans,” Rahman wrote, explaining al Qaeda’s position towards the Pakistani government. “If you were to leave us and our affairs alone, we would leave you alone. If not, we are men, and you will be surprised by what you see; God is with us.”</p>
<p class="p1">Al Qaeda’s negotiating tactic was simple. Either the Pakistanis leave them alone, or they would suffer more terrorist attacks. Rahman’s letter reveals how bin Laden’s men sought to convey their message. They relied on Siraj Haqqani, the senior leader of the Haqqani Network, which has long been supported by the Pakistani military and intelligence establishment.</p>
<p class="p1">Rahman summarized al Qaeda’s plan thusly: “We let slip (through Siraj Haqqani, with the help of the brothers in Mas’ud and others; through their communications) information indicating that al Qaeda and Tahreek-i-Taliban [the Pakistani Taliban] have big, earth shaking operations in Pakistan, but that their leaders had halted those operations in an attempt to calm things down and relieve the American pressure.”</p>
<p class="p1">“But if Pakistan does any harm to the Mujahidin in Waziristan, the operations will go forward, including enormous operations ready in the heart of the country,” Rahman explained. This is the message al Qaeda “leaked out through several outlets.”</p>
<p class="p1">In response, “they, the intelligence people…started reaching out to” al Qaeda through Pakistani jihadist groups they “approve of.”</p>
<p class="p1">One of Pakistani intelligence’s emissaries was&nbsp;Fazlur Rehman Khalil, the longtime leader of Harakat ul Mujahedin (HUM). Khalil is a well-known bin Laden ally, as he signed the al Qaeda chieftain’s infamous fatwa calling for jihad against the “Crusaders and Zionists” in 1998. Pakistani intelligence used Khalil’s HUM to send al Qaeda a letter.</p>
<p class="p1">“We received a messenger from them bringing us a letter from the Intelligence leaders including Shuja’ Shah, and others,” Rahman wrote, according the US government’s translation. “They said they wanted to talk to us, to al Qaeda. We gave them the same message, nothing more.”</p>
<p class="p1"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/52b9638569bedd3d628be076-1200-800/rtx12tz1.jpg" border="0" alt="pakistan"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Beyond his role as a leader in Pakistani intelligence, “Shuja’ Shah” is not further identified in the letter. Ahmad Shuja Pasha was the head of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency at the time. Some have </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/23/magazine/what-pakistan-knew-about-bin-laden.html?_r=0"><span class="s1">alleged that Pasha knew bin Laden&nbsp;was located</span></a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;in Abbottabad.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p class="p1"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Pasha has denied this. Rahman’s letter does not indicate that “Shuja’ Shah” or Pakistani intelligence knew of bin Laden’s whereabouts, but it does show that they knew how to get in touch with his top lieutenants. All they had to do was ring jihadists such as HUM’s Khalil, one of the many jihadists the Pakistanis “approve” of.</span></p>
<p class="p1">Pakistani intelligence got in touch with al Qaeda again a “little later,” sending the “same man” who had acted as a messenger the first time. But now the messenger had back up, including a former head of the ISI with well-known jihadist sympathies.</p>
<p class="p1">Rahman noted: “This time the surprise was that they brought Hamid Gul into the session, and&nbsp;Fazlur Rehman Khalil attended with them as an advisor!” Gul headed the ISI in the late 1980s. During that time and after, he cultivated and the maintained deep ties to Pakistan’s jihadists.</p>
<p class="p1">Rahman summarized for bin Laden what the Pakistani intelligence liaisons had to say at the meeting. “Be patient with us for a little bit,” Rahman quoted them as saying, indicating that the Pakistanis had requested a cooling off period of up to two months. The Pakistani representatives continued: “We are trying to convince the Americans, we are putting pressure on them to negotiate with al Qaeda and we are trying to convince them that negotiating with the Taliban separate from al Qaeda is pointless. So please wait a little.”</p>
<p class="p1">If “we can convince the Americans,” the Pakistanis said, then we “have no objection to negotiating with you and sitting with you,” meaning al Qaeda.</p>
<p class="p1">Al Qaeda’s representatives agreed to pass the message onto to their leaders.</p>
<h3 class="p1"><strong>The Punjab government also wanted to negotiate</strong></h3>
<p class="p1">The very next paragraph of Rahman’s letter to bin Laden recounts a separate negotiation. This one, according to the letter, was initiated by Shah Baz Sharif of “the Punjab government.” Shah Baz Sharif is the brother of Nawaz Sharif, Pakistan’s current prime minister.</p>
<p class="p1"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5267e525ecad04e835d73520-1200-800/rtx12kpw.jpg" border="0" alt="Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addresses attendees at a flag raising ceremony to mark the country's 67th Independence Day in Islamabad August 14, 2013. Pakistan gained independence from British rule in 1947. "><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Rahman informed Hakeemullah Mehsud and Qari Husayn of the Pakistani Taliban that Shah Baz Sharif had “sent them a message indicating they [the government] wanted to negotiate with them, and they were ready to reestablish normal relations as long as they do no conduct operations in Punjab.” Rahman clarified that the proposed deal was restricted to the “governmental jurisdiction” of Punjab and didn’t include other areas such as Islamabad.</span></p>
<p class="p1">“The government said they were ready to pay any price…and so on,” Rahman wrote. “They told us the negotiations were under way.” Rahman then made it clear that the Pakistani Taliban was to keep al Qaeda’s leadership in the loop at all times. “We stressed that they [Pakistani Taliban] needed to consult us on everything, and they promised they would.”</p>
<p class="p1">Rahman noted that he had discussed the talks in his “last meeting” with Hakeemullah Mehsud, and the Pakistani Taliban leader told him “there was nothing new” and Mehsud agreed to “report anything new to” bin Laden.</p>
<p class="p1">“I let him know what has been happening with us, and advised him to be careful of them,” meaning the Pakistanis, Rahman wrote. Mehsud believed that al Qaeda “should not appear in the picture” and “should not sit” with the Pakistanis during the negotiations.</p>
<p class="p1">Al Qaeda was evidently content to have the Pakistani Taliban handle the direct talks. “I agreed with him on this in principle,” Rahman wrote, stressing that al Qaeda’s “leadership” would be consulted and bin Laden’s “consent” was needed before any decisions were made.</p>
<p class="p1">Rahman’s summary of Shah Baz Sharif’s position is entirely consistent with Sharif’s public rhetoric at the time. On Mar. 15, 2010, the Pakistani newspaper <em>Dawn</em> <a href="http://www.dawn.com/news/857697/cm-shahbaz-wants-taliban-to-spare-punjab"><span class="s1">published an article</span></a> discussing Sharif’s desire for the Pakistani Taliban to halt its attacks in the Punjab. &nbsp;Sharif blamed the escalation of violence in Pakistan on Pervez Musharraf, the former president. Sharif&nbsp;stated&nbsp;that the Taliban and his political party, the&nbsp;Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), were both opposed Musharraf.</p>
<p class="p1">Sharif was therefore “surprised that this common stance has failed to stop the Taliban from carrying out terror attacks in Punjab.” Sharif harshly criticized&nbsp;American policy, portraying Musharraf as a puppet for outside powers.</p>
<p class="p1">“Gen Musharraf planned a bloodbath of innocent Muslims at the behest of others only to prolong his rule, but we in the PML-N opposed his policies and rejected dictation from abroad and if the Taliban are also fighting for the same cause then they should not carry out acts of terror in Punjab (where the PML-N is ruling),” <em>Dawn</em> <a href="http://www.dawn.com/news/857697/cm-shahbaz-wants-taliban-to-spare-punjab"><span class="s1">quoted Sharif</span></a> as saying.</p>
<h3 class="p1"><strong>Al Qaeda was cautious, but willing to make a deal</strong></h3>
<p class="p1">Rahman’s July 2010 letter to bin Laden reveals that al Qaeda was cautious, but willing to make a deal with the Pakistani negotiators. Rahman wrote: “Are the Pakistanis serious, or are they playing around and dissembling?” Rahman believed, “Caution is mandatory, as is preparedness, awareness, and staying focused on the mission and resolve.”</p>
<p class="p1">Rahman also cited an opinion that bin Laden had previously expressed. “O Sheikh, we see it the way you said it: We will make use of any opportunity for a truce with the Pakistanis in order so we can focus on the Americans. That is clear.” Bin Laden’s subordinate noted “there will be some trouble for many of our Pakistani brothers, and do not forget the brothers in Swat, the brothers in Mas’ud,” but “we will clarify things and help them understand the issue and how important it is, and that it is the best possible result, with God’s support.”</p>
<p class="p1">A previously released letter from bin Laden to Rahman, authored in May 2010, shows that bin Laden had requested information on the negotiations. Rahman’s July 2010 letter was, therefore, part a running conversation on the topic within al Qaeda.</p>
<p class="p1">In May 2010, Bin Laden ordered Rahman to ask the Pakistani Taliban “about the truth in the news…about [the] beginnings of negotiations and truce talks between them and the&nbsp;Pakistani government.” Bin Laden wanted to know what the Pakistani Taliban’s opinion of the talks was and also Rahman’s take.</p>
<p class="p1">The al Qaeda boss told Rahman that “much of what I have said about Yemen can be&nbsp;applied to the situation on your side.” At the time, bin Laden was trying to keep al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) out of a full-scale fight with the Yemeni government, preferring to keep al Qaeda focused on American targets. His advisors, including Ayman al Zawahiri, pushed back, noting that the Yemeni government was already taking the fight to AQAP. The documents reveal that al Qaeda had an extensive discussion on the proper war strategy for Yemen.</p>
<p class="p1">Bin Laden clearly wanted the jihadists to come to an accommodation with the Pakistani government if possible. Another letter from bin Laden to Rahman, dated August 2010, was introduced in the Brooklyn trial. “In regards to the truce with the Pakistani government, continuing the negotiations in the way you described is in the interest of the Mujahideen at this time,” bin Laden wrote, thereby offering his endorsement of Rahman’s negotiation plan.</p>
<h3 class="p1"><strong>A tip&nbsp;from the “Pakistanis”</strong></h3>
<p class="p1">In November 2010, Rahman wrote to bin Laden again. There were “renewed concerns and rumors about a possible campaign that will be waged by the [Pakistani] army on northern Waziristan, under pressure from the Americans, of course,” Rahman wrote. The “pressures” seemed to have “eased” after President Obama visited India without stopping in Pakistan. But Rahman reported that the Americans were using intercepts as leverage to urge&nbsp;the Pakistanis to fight the jihadists.</p>
<p class="p1">“The Pakistanis told some of the students here in the north that unless communications from Miram Shah and Mir Ali stop, the campaign is a possibility,” Rahman wrote. “They are referring to the pressure the Americans are putting on them because of the intercepted communications.”</p>
<p class="p1">Thus, someone in the Pakistani establishment tipped off the jihadists in northern Pakistan. Rahman assured bin Laden that the intercepts weren’t owed to a flaw in al Qaeda’s operational security, but instead due to undisciplined foreign fighters.</p>
<p class="p1">“The problem is not with us (the organization) and the disciplined, but rather in those loitering in the markets of Miram Shah and Mir Ali, who are not disciplined, and do not listen to anyone,” Rahman wrote. “They are Arabs, Turks, Azeris, even Germans, and many more mixtures. We always try to advise the group leaders and those who are wise, and we communicate with them to mitigate the bad, and make them understand public interest.”</p>
<p class="p1">Al Qaeda was taking steps to rein in the unruly jihadists. Rahman explained that al Qaeda was “currently in the process of establishing a Coordination Council for Turkish speaking groups (Turks, Turkmen, and Uzbeks, some of them are not part of the Taher Jan group, Azeris, and Bulgarians, probably.)”**</p>
<p class="p1">The “Taher Jan group” is a reference to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), which was headed by&nbsp;Tahir Yuldashev (also known as Taher Jan) <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/10/tahir_yuldashev_conf.php"><span class="s1">before his demise</span></a> in 2009. As Rahman saw it, part of the problem was caused by Uzbeks who were not affiliated with the IMU.</p>
<h3 class="p1"><strong>Small subset&nbsp;from a much larger cache of documents</strong></h3>
<p class="p1">There was widespread outrage after the location of Osama bin Laden’s compound was revealed in early May 2011. He wasn’t living in the remote regions of northern Pakistan, where the drones had killed&nbsp;other al Qaeda leaders, but instead in a city not far from Islamabad. Abbottabad houses an elite Pakistani military academy and other elements of the Pakistani military and intelligence establishment.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">It is difficult to believe that no one in the Pakistani establishment knew of bin Laden’s location.</p>
<p class="p1"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5453bf74eab8eac605be0240-984-628/screen shot 2014-10-31 at 1.10.08 pm.png" border="0" alt="bin laden raid"></p>
<p class="p1">The bin Laden files released thus far are not sufficient to&nbsp;draw firm conclusions concerning&nbsp;the extent of the al Qaeda master’s support network in Pakistan. But the documents indicate that some key Pakistanis were at least willing to cut a deal with al Qaeda.</p>
<p class="p1">Both Shah Baz Sharif and Pakistani intelligence leaders were willing to negotiate to put an end to the jihadists’ attacks. However, this does not mean that these same officials were collaborating with al Qaeda. And al Qaeda clearly disapproved of some of the Pakistani Taliban’s operations, even as the two groups were communicating at the senior leadership level.</p>
<p class="p1">More files need to be released to tell the whole story. Just two dozen documents&nbsp;out of the more than one million captured during the bin Laden raid have been made public.</p>
<p class="p1">Still,&nbsp;there are hints of even more nefarious connections in the small set of documents released thus far.</p>
<p class="p1">The letters introduced as evidence in&nbsp;Naseer’s trial confirm that the Pakistani military and intelligence establishment considers prominent al Qaeda-allied jihadists, such as HUM leader&nbsp;Fazlur Rehman Khalil,&nbsp;to be acceptable partners. And the Pakistanis knew that to get in touch with al Qaeda’s senior leadership all they needed to do was reach out to men such as Khalil.</p>
<p class="p1">Indeed, previous accounts&nbsp;indicate that a cellphone recovered from bin Laden’s courier revealed contacts with HUM commanders. [See <em>LWJ</em> report, <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/06/nyt_bin_ladens_couri.php"><span class="s1">Bin Laden’s courier tied to Pakistani-backed terror group</span></a>.]</p>
<p class="p1">Some of Pakistan’s jihadist proxies&nbsp;are also al Qaeda’s closest allies.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/osama-bin-laden-wrote-this-scathing-performance-assessment-of-a-top-al-qaeda-figure-2015-3" >Osama bin Laden wrote this scathing assessment of a fellow top al Qaeda figure</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/documents-from-bin-ladens-compound-detail-al-qaedas-contact-with-the-pakistani-government-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/osama-bin-laden-wrote-this-scathing-performance-assessment-of-a-top-al-qaeda-figure-2015-3Osama bin Laden wrote this scathing assessment of a fellow top Al Qaeda figurehttp://www.businessinsider.com/osama-bin-laden-wrote-this-scathing-performance-assessment-of-a-top-al-qaeda-figure-2015-3
Thu, 05 Mar 2015 16:07:00 -0500Bill Roggio
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54f8bf9d6bb3f75c6b6eb468-400-300/osama-bin-laden-14.jpg" border="0" alt="osama bin laden"></p><p>Newly released documents seized from Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abottabad show that the jihadist leader exercised control over the terrorist organization during the summer of 2010, when the US drone campaign against al Qaeda’s leadership node in Afghanistan and Pakistan was at its apex.</p>
<p>An exchange between bin Laden and his general manager, Atiyah Abd al Rahman, over the possible appointment of al Qaeda’s operations chief for Pakistan to the group’s shura majlis, or executive council, also sheds light on how al Qaeda elevates leaders to the group’s inner circle.</p>
<p>Letters between bin Laden and Rahman, who was killed in a US drone strike in August 2011, discuss the merits of Abu ‘Uthman al Shahri, who served as al Qaeda’s operations chief for Pakistan.</p>
<p>Abu ‘Uthman took over as al Qaeda’s operations chief for Pakistan after his predecessor, Osama al Kini, was killed in a US drone strike in Pakistan in January 2009.</p>
<p>The letters between the two al Qaeda leaders were introduced as evidence in the recent trial of Abid Naseer, who is alleged to have taken part in al Qaeda’s plotting of attacks in Europe and New York City.</p>
<p>Rahman mentioned Abu ‘Uthman in a letter dated June 19, 2010. “We want your assessment, for you to follow the issue, and then give us guidance,” Rahman wrote to bin Laden. The general manager asked if Abu ‘Uthman swore “fealty” to bin Laden.</p>
<p>If ‘Uthman hadn’t made his pledge directly to bin Laden, it was “renewed” by “Sheikh Sa’id,” Rahman assured the al Qaeda emir.</p>
<p>Sheikh Sa’id, better known as Sheikh Sa’id al Masri and Mustapha Abu Yazid, was Rahman’s predecessor, and was killed in a US drone strike in May 2010.</p>
<p>Rahman then proceeded to list several of Abu ‘Uthman’s “flaws,” which included “the way he interacts and how he talks resembles diplomatic talk; lots of exaggeration and lack of precision. Some people nastily described him as ‘beating around the bush!’ And so on.”</p>
<p>Most egregious is Abu ‘Uthman’s “continued fondness for ‘the party’ and the ‘engineer,’ as he [Abu ‘Uthman] calls him,” as well as his disrespect for Taliban emir Mullah Mohammad Omar.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5462a248ecad04e573dc66e0-1200-800/rtr2lwtl.jpg" border="0" alt="aerial view of bin laden compound">The “engineer” to whom Rahman refers is without doubt Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and the “party” is Hekmatyar’s faction of the Hizb-i-Islami, which initially rivaled, but then allied with the Taliban.</p>
<p>“He talks about it sometimes, though we have emphasized to him that he should not talk about it. Some of our Pakistani brothers (Pashtuns and Punjabis) caught wind of it… They said that when he mentions the Amir al-Mu’minin [Commander of the Faithful], he calls him ‘our brother Mullah Mohammed Omar!’” Rahman wrote.</p>
<p>In other words, Abu ‘Uthman was referring to Mullah Omar merely as his “brother,” and not giving him the honorific he deserved as the “Commander of the Faithful,” a title usually reserved for the Caliph. This internal discussion shows that al Qaeda’s public allegiance to Mullah Omar is not a show, as they hold him in the highest regard behind closed doors.</p>
<p>Despite the criticism of Abu ‘Uthman, however, Rahman and a large number of influential al Qaeda leaders nominated him to serve on al Qaeda’s top council.</p>
<p>“He has virtually all of the required nominations but I have put a halt on making it official,” Rahman wrote. “Abu ‘Uthman was one of the candidates who received the most votes (one of the requirements for him to be a member of the Shura is for him to lead an important operations sector, for him it is Pakistan operations).”</p>
<p>Despite Rahman’s recommendation, bin Laden ordered that Abu ‘Uthman’s nomination to the council be put on hold in a letter written on Aug. 7, 2010.</p>
<p>Bin Laden thought Abu ‘Uthman was too close to Hekmatyar and his party. It is also likely that Abu ‘Uthman’s casual attitude to Mullah Omar played a role in bin Laden’s decision, given the close ties between the groups and the al Qaeda emir’s pledge of fealty to Omar.</p>
<p>“As for our brother, the friend of the engineer, I see that we should wait for another time to nominate him. You can give him advice once in a while, as he is easy going even though he’s too focused on engineering,” bin Laden wrote.</p>
<p>Shortly after bin Laden declined Abu ‘Uthman’s promotion, the Pakistan operations chief was killed. While the exact date of his death is not clear, by the end of November 2010 Rahman noted that Abu ‘Uthman is dead and has been quickly replaced by his cousin, Abu Hafs al Shahri.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54f8bf366da811e23690eafb-850-465/mullah omar osama bin laden side.jpg" border="0" alt="Mullah Omar Osama bin Laden side" style="color: #000000;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">“Brother Abu Hafs al Shahri (a cousin of Abu Uthman – May God rest his soul, who now manages the work in Abu Uthman’s stead, and we believe he is even better than Abu Uthman), as he is a veteran,” Rahman wrote in a letter to bin Laden dated Nov. 23, 2010.</span></p>
<p>The portion of the letter was describing new al Qaeda leaders. The term “May God rest his soul” is used to describe jihadist leaders who have been killed.</p>
<p>Rahman did not state when or where Abu ‘Uthman was killed, but it is possible that he died in a US airstrike in Kunar province, Afghanistan on Sept. 25, 2010.</p>
<p>An al Qaeda leader known as Sa’ad Mohammad al Shahri was killed in that strike. According to the Gulf Times, Sa’ad was a cousin of Abu Hafs al Shahri (just as Rahman described him), as well as “an associate of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar of the Hizb-i-Islami party.”</p>
<p>Abu Hafs al Shahri’s tenure as the head of al Qaeda’s operations in Pakistan was short-lived. He was killed on Sept. 11, 2011 in a drone strike in Pakistan, nearly one year after taking over for his cousin. A Haqqani Network commander named Hafeezullah and a “foreigner,” a term often used to describe Arabs and other non-Pakistanis, were among four “militants” reported killed in the Sept. 11, 2011 airstrike.</p>
<p>The presence of a Haqqani commander with Abu Hafs at the time of his death is unsurprising, as al Qaeda and the Haqqani Network are known to operate closely. The new batch of documents have multiple references to the close connections between the two jihadist groups.</p>
<p>The job of al Qaeda’s operations chief in Pakistan is a dangerous one, as it requires the leader to serve from the front lines in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where US strike aircraft are constantly hunting.</p>
<p>Abu Hafs was succeeded by Badr Mansoor (killed in February 2012), then Farman Shinwari (killed in 2013), and then Sufyan al Maghribi (killed in the summer of 2014).</p>
<p>Mansoor commanded an al Qaeda “company,” according to bin Laden, and was also a leader in the Pakistan-based Harakat-ul-Mujahideen (HUM), which is currently running training camps in Afghanistan, according to the US State Department. Shinwari also served as a HUM leader. Al Maghribi was a veteran al Qaeda commander from Morocco.</p>
<p>The identity of al Qaeda’s current operations chief for Pakistan is not known. In fact, most of the al Qaeda leaders who served in this capacity were not known to the general public until after their death.</p>
<p>The position likely was subsumed into Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), a new al Qaeda branch which was formed in 2014 that likely includes a host of jihadist groups in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.</p>
<p>The discussion of the fate of Abu Uthman is but one of many instances of Osama bin Laden and Rahman talking over the appointment of leaders and the group’s plans for its leadership cadre that are contained within the newly released documents.</p>
<p>The conversations dispute the oft-repeated narrative that bin Laden was a “lion in winter” who was disconnected and isolated from the group, its leaders, and operations.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/osama-bin-laden-wrote-this-scathing-performance-assessment-of-a-top-al-qaeda-figure-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/unsolved-wall-street-terror-attack-2014-5">The Unsolved Mystery Of The Deadliest Terror Attack On Wall Street</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/thomas-joscelyn-al-qaeda-was-planning-to-hijack-the-arab-spring-2015-3Documents from the Bin Laden compound show how Al Qaeda was planning to hijack the Arab Springhttp://www.businessinsider.com/thomas-joscelyn-al-qaeda-was-planning-to-hijack-the-arab-spring-2015-3
Wed, 04 Mar 2015 13:31:44 -0500Thomas Joscelyn
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5329c4b3ecad040d31df3c0f-1200-924/osama-bin-laden-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Osama Bin Laden"></p><p>As the so-called “Arab Spring” swept through the Muslim-majority world in 2011, some US officials and counterterrorism&nbsp;analysts proclaimed that&nbsp;al Qaeda had been left “<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/06/29/remarks-john-o-brennan-assistant-president-homeland-security-and-counter">on the sidelines</a>.”</p>
<p>However, the limited selection of publicly-available documents captured in Osama bin Laden’s compound in May 2011 tell a different story. The al Qaeda chieftain&nbsp;and his subordinates saw an opportunity.</p>
<p>Atiyah Abd al Rahman, who served as al Qaeda’s general manager, discussed the political upheaval in a letter written to bin Laden just weeks before the al Qaeda CEO was killed in his Abbottabad, Pakistan safe house. Rahman’s&nbsp;letter was introduced&nbsp;as evidence in the trial of Abid Naseer, who is alleged to have taken part in al Qaeda’s plotting in Europe and New York City. Just months after penning it, Rahman was <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/08/top_al_qaeda_leader_3.php">killed in a US drone strike</a> in northern Pakistan.</p>
<p>“We are currently following the Arab Revolutions and the changes taking place in Arab countries,” Rahman wrote. “We praise you, almighty God, for the demise of the tyrants in Tunisia and Egypt.”</p>
<p>Rahman mentions the “situation” in countries such as Libya, Syria, and Yemen, explaining that he has included “some of what” he “wrote to some of my brothers concerning these revolutions.”</p>
<p>“In general,” Rahman argued, “we think these changes are sweeping, and there is good in them, God willing.” Rahman wondered if bin Laden had considered putting out a speech on the uprisings, noting that al Qaeda’s CEO had “not made any statements as of now,” as “hopefully” bin Laden was “waiting for these revolutions to mature and reach stability.”</p>
<p>Rahman wrote that “it might be good for” Yunis al Mauritani, a key figure in al Qaeda’s “external operations” (or international terrorist operations) who was <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/09/pakistani_forces_cap.php">subsequently captured in Pakistan</a>, to “send his brothers to Tunisia and Syria and other places.” Bin Laden’s general manager believed that the “Syrian brothers would have to wait a little for the revolution in Syria to succeed in taking down Bashar Assad’s regime, and for the country to become degenerated and chaotic.”</p>
<p>His&nbsp;conclusion proved to be wrong. Al Qaeda groomed&nbsp;an official branch in Syria, the Al Nusrah Front, to battle&nbsp;Assad’s government and its allies. And al Qaeda’s senior leadership later <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/09/senior_al_qaeda_stra.php">sent a cadre of officials to Syria</a> to help guide this effort, as well as to plot attacks in the West.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5433f2ddecad04d6033301a9-733-549/al-nusra-protest-aleppo.jpg" border="0" alt="Al Nusra Protest Aleppo"></p>
<p>The Tunisian with Yunis “could travel straight to Tunisia now,” as “he could easily enter the country, and then some of our people could travel there and get in,” Rahman wrote. The “three Syrians” will “hopefully” be able to&nbsp;get into their home country. &nbsp;</p>
<p>There is no clear indication of who these Syrians and the Tunisian are, or what happened to them. Some of Yunis’ men were eventually captured alongside him, while others likely remained free.</p>
<p>But the bin Laden files give some&nbsp;details with respect to Libya.</p>
<h3><strong>Freed members of the&nbsp;Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG)</strong></h3>
<p>“The changes that have taken place in the Arab region are enormous, and many other things must change with them,” Rahman wrote. “Take Libya as an example. The last thing we have heard from the brothers in Libya is that they have started to arrange their affairs. They are engaging in activities and they have a role there, praise God.”</p>
<p>Rahman’s words confirm that early on in the Libyan revolution al Qaeda’s senior leaders were communicating with their “brothers” in the country. He goes on to note the role played by the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), an <a href="http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQE01101E.shtml">al Qaeda-linked organization that gave bin Laden some of his most trusted lieutenants</a>.</p>
<p>“Brothers from the Libyan Fighting Group and others are out of jail,” Rahman wrote. “There has been an active Jihadist Islamic renaissance underway in Eastern Libya (Benghazi, Derna, Bayda and that area) for some time, just waiting for this kind of opportunity. We think the brothers’ activities, their names, and their ‘recordings’ will start to show up soon.”</p>
<p>It is interesting to note that Rahman seemed encouraged by the release of the LIFG members, despite the fact that some of the group’s imprisoned leaders in Libya had previously rejected another LIFG faction’s decision to formally merge with al Qaeda. That rebuke of al Qaeda, <a href="https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/lifg-revisions-posing-critical-challenge-to-al-qaida">issued in September 2009</a>, was made while the LIFG jihadists were stills detained by Muammar al Qaddafi.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/53fba10469beddf475a299ca-1200-924/libya-islamist-militants.jpg" border="0" alt="Libya Islamist Militants"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Rahman was right to be bullish with respect to the jihadists’ prospects in Libya. In their 2009 revisions, the detained&nbsp;LIFG leadership said they had given up on their quest to dethrone Qaddafi. But when the opportunity arose less than two years later, LIFG veterans </span><a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/04/ex-gitmo_detainee_tr.php">became key rebel leaders in the fight</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> against the regime. And while the LIFG evolved into multiple factions, some of its committed jihadists continue to fight against anti-Islamist forces to this day.</span></p>
<p>LIFG veterans who had previously joined al Qaeda, such as <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/01/an_ex-guantanamo_det.php">an ex-Guantanamo detainee named Sufian Ben Qumu</a>, were among the jihadists who returned to the fight. Ben Qumu went on to become a prominent figure in Ansar al Sharia in Derna, which has <a href="http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQE14514E.shtml">worked with al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)</a>, an official branch of al Qaeda, and other al Qaeda groups in Libya. On the night of Sept. 11, 2012, some of Ansar al Sharia in Derna’s fighters took part in the assault on the US Mission and Annex in Benghazi, Libya.</p>
<p>Another LIFG veteran, Salim Derby, leads the Abu Salim Martyrs Brigade (ASMB) in Derna. In December of 2014, the ASMB established the Mujahideen Shura Council (MSC), an alliance of jihadists in the city. The MSC was set up in opposition to General Khalifa Haftar’s forces.</p>
<h3><strong>The “brothers’ enthusiasm” for jihad in Libya</strong></h3>
<p>The newly-released bin Laden files show that al Qaeda operatives requested to relocate to Libya in 2011 and Rahman approved their request.</p>
<p>“Still on the subject of Libya, because of the brothers’ enthusiasm and the opportunities that provides for the Jihad there, as well as how much the brothers want to engage in Jihad against the tyrants there,” Rahman wrote to bin Laden, “Brother Anas al-Subi’i al-Libi and others have sought permission to go to Libya.”</p>
<p>Anas al-Subi’i al-Libi was the nom de guerre of <a href="http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQI02301E.shtml%C2%A0">Nazih Abdul Hamed Nabih al-Ruqai’i</a>, who is more commonly known as Abu Anas al Libi. US forces <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/10/core_al_qaeda_member.php">captured Abu Anas in Tripoli in late 2013</a> and he was transferred to a prison in New York, where he died awaiting trial last year.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54f74246eab8ea097bfc5afb-1200-600/abu-anas-al-liby.jpg" border="0" alt="Abu Anas al-Liby"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Federal prosecutors, who charge Abu Anas with helping to plan al Qaeda’s 1998 US embassy bombings, had planned to use bin Laden’s files in the trial. Excerpts in the recently&nbsp;released documents are consistent with previous reports about the files’ contents. [See </span><em style="line-height: 1.5em;">LWJ</em><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> report, </span><a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/01/analysis_osama_bin_l.php">Analysis: Osama bin Laden’s documents pertaining to Abu Anas al Libi should be released</a><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">.]</span></p>
<p>Rahman explained to bin Laden that Abu Anas had written a&nbsp;letter to Abu Yahya al Libi (Rahman’s deputy at the time), and Abu Anas was upset with Rahman for not responding sooner. The letter from Abu Anas was apparently attached to Rahman’s own missive to bin Laden.</p>
<p>“He is upset with me for taking so long to answer,” Rahman wrote. “Of course, the reason for my delay is very objective; praise God, I can be excused, God willing: it is because I have been away, under cover, in hiding, and I have had little contact or movement during this time. The letters he is indicating only just made it to me.”</p>
<p>Rahman forwarded onto bin Laden the reply he sent to Abu Yahya. “In short, I gave him [Abu Anas] permission to go to Libya,” Rahman explained.</p>
<p>Al Qaeda had concerns about Abu Anas though. “He (Anas) has been in bad shape psychologically since he came to us from Iran,” Rahman wrote. Abu Anas had sent his family away.</p>
<p>“When he came here he was very agitated, showing signs of anxiety and depression,” Rahman noted. “He normally has problems with interpersonal issues and mood swings.” Therefore, Abu Yahya and “our aids” took steps to make Abu Anas “feel more comfortable.”</p>
<p>Even so, Abu Anas broke al Qaeda’s security protocols. Rahman fumed: “He was in touch with his family in Libya, even though he knew we had prohibited all communications, and even though it was known that he is a dangerous man and wanted by the Americans, and so on, he contacted them by telephone repeatedly!”<img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5252c7a26bb3f7083ffdcbb6-1200-1715/al-liby-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Anas al-Liby"></p>
<p>Despite al Qaeda’s concerns, Abu Anas was reintegrated into the organization’s chain-of-command. A previous letter from Rahman to bin Laden, dated June 19, 2010, notes that Abu Anas was assigned to al Qaeda’s security committee.</p>
<p>“I directed him [Abu Anas] to work with the brothers in the security committee,” Rahman wrote to bin Laden. “I told them to sit with him and introduce to him the work and the world etc. It is normal for any person after a long absence, especially in jail, that he needs some time to figure out how things work.”</p>
<p>Rahman added that Abu Anas was seeking “reassurance” about bin Laden. “We reassured him and told him about your letters and that you follow his news through us.”</p>
<p>In August 2012, more than one year after Abu Anas moved back to Libya, analysts in the Defense Department’s Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) published a report (“Al Qaeda in Libya: A Profile”) that analyzed al Qaeda’s covert plan for the country. Abu Anas was identified in the report as the&nbsp;“builder of al Qaeda’s network in Libya.”</p>
<p>The CTTSO surmised that Abu Anas is “most likely involved in al Qaeda strategic planning and coordination between AQSL [Al Qaeda Senior Leadership] and Libyan Islamist militias who adhere to al Qaeda’s ideology.” [See <em>LWJ</em> report, <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/09/al_qaedas_plan_for_l.php">Al Qaeda’s plan for Libya highlighted in congressional report</a>.]</p>
<h3><strong>‘Urwah al Libi in direct contact with&nbsp;Al Qaeda Senion Leadership</strong></h3>
<p>The bin Laden files reveal new details concerning AQSL’s ability to communicate with operatives in Libya.</p>
<p>Abu Anas was drawn back to his native country&nbsp;by the uprising against Qaddafi and the role that his al Qaeda brethren were playing in it. In particular, Abu Anas’ zeal for the jihad was fueled by the experience of his comrade, ‘Urwah al Libi.</p>
<p>Rahman wrote to bin Laden in 2011 that Abu Anas had learned the “brother ‘Urwah al Libi (who had been in prison with him [Abu Anas] in Iran) had traveled and gotten [into] Libya.” ‘Urwah al Libi “contacted Anas and encouraged him to come, telling him the roads were good and travel was easy.”</p>
<p>‘Urwah al Libi is also identified as Abu Malik al Libi in Rahman’s letters. Rahman described ‘Urwah as “an outstanding combatant” who decided to stay in Iran after his release from detention rather than rejoin AQSL in Pakistan.</p>
<p>“About a month ago he traveled to Libya; he made it there safely, praise God, and got in touch with some of our brothers there,” Rahman wrote. “We are in contact with him on the net, and we are waiting for some messages from him. He is an important brother for field work, and we anticipate him playing a role in Libya.”</p>
<p>Although Rahman had high hopes for ‘Urwah, it was not meant to be.</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/4ea020cd69bedd2915000022-900-600/libyan-rebels-1.jpg" border="0" alt="libyan rebels fighting in sirte"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In April 2011, around the same time Rahman wrote his letter to bin Laden, </span><em style="line-height: 1.5em;">Al Hayat</em><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> reported that ‘Urwah had been killed in an ambush by Qaddafi’s forces. ‘Urwah was described as one of the LIFG’s “prominent leaders” in </span><em style="line-height: 1.5em;">Al Hayat’s</em><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> account. The paper’s sources said ‘Urwah’s “weight” in the LIFG could not “be disregarded,” as he was held in high regard by the LIFG’s leadership in Libya prior to his demise.</span></p>
<h3><strong>An alleged proposal from the British</strong></h3>
<p>Before joining the jihad in Libya, and while he was still in Iran, ‘Urwah sent Rahman an email saying that “some of the Libyan brothers in England had talked to him about” an alleged offer.</p>
<p>According to Rahman’s summary of the email, which he relayed to bin Laden, the British wanted to cut a deal.&nbsp;“British Intelligence spoke to them (these Libyan brothers in England), and asked them to try to contact the people they knew in al Qaeda to inform them of and find out what they think about the following idea: England is ready to leave Afghanistan [if] al Qaeda would explicitly commit to not moving against England or her interests.”</p>
<p>Rahman told ‘Urwah that AQSL would consider the proposal. “He [‘Urwah] may have told the Libyan brothers by now, and they may have told the British,” Rahman wrote to bin Laden. “I do not have any confirmation, of course, and he (‘Urwah) might provide something in his next message, though he will be very busy in Libya now. This is what happened, and we ask God to bless us with his guidance.”</p>
<p>Additional evidence is required to evaluate this supposed proposal. The information contained in Rahman’s letter is,&nbsp;at best, thirdhand. It was passed from the “Libyan brothers” in the UK, to ‘Urwah, and then finally to Rahman.</p>
<h3><strong>Al Qaeda’s response to the “Arab Spring”</strong></h3>
<p>A previously released letter from bin Laden to Rahman, dated April 26, 2011, appears to be the al Qaeda emir’s reply to the issues addressed above. For instance, bin Laden mentioned the putative offer from the British. Bin Laden&nbsp;believed that the British were close to defeat, so he did not want to “enable them on that.” By the same token, bin Laden wanted to decline the supposed proposal “without slamming the door completely closed.”</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/50e5b8c669bedd210600000e-1200-858/al jazeera osama.jpg" border="0" alt="al jazeera osama bin laden"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Bin Laden also enclosed a statement on the revolutions, just as Rahman had requested, and asked that it be sent to the Al Jazeera television network. Indeed, much of bin Laden’s reply is devoted to the uprisings.</span></p>
<p>The head of al Qaeda believed that Islamist parties, including the Muslim Brotherhood, would be the primary winners in the new political order, and the jihadists&nbsp;should not seek conflict with them.</p>
<p>“It would be&nbsp;nice to remind our brothers in the regions to be patient and deliberate, and warn them of entering into confrontations with the parties belonging to Islam, and it is probable that most of the areas will have governments established on the remnants of the previous governments,&nbsp;and most probable these governments will belong to the Islamic parties and groups, like the Brotherhood and the like,” bin Laden wrote.</p>
<p>“[O]ur duty at this stage is to pay attention to the call among Muslims and win over supporters and spread the correct understanding,” bin Laden continued, “as the current conditions have brought on unprecedented opportunities and the coming of Islamic governments that follow the Salafi doctrine is a benefit to Islam.”</p>
<p>“The more time that passes and the call increases, the more the supporters will be of the people, and the more widespread will be the correct understanding among the coming generations of Islamic groups,” bin Laden believed.</p>
<p>As the rivalry between the Islamic State and al Qaeda became a central issue in the jihadists’ world, Islamic State officials and their supporters increasingly accused Zawahiri of taking al Qaeda down a deviant path by not advocating armed jihad in all Arab countries at all times. But Zawahiri’s approach to the countries affected by the political tumult was broadly consistent with that advocated by bin Laden in one of his final letters.</p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/54e519f069beddc6637dac46-800-509/isis libya flag big.jpeg" border="0" alt="ISIS Libya Flag"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Bin Laden thought, for example, that&nbsp;there was “a sizable direction within the Brotherhood that holds the Salafi doctrine, so the return of the Brotherhood and those like them to the true Islam is a matter of time.”&nbsp;</span></p>
<p>Accordingly,&nbsp;bin Laden wrote that the “more attention paid to explaining Islamic understanding, the sooner their return is, so preserving the Muslim movements today and adjusting their direction requires effort and attention, keeping in mind the necessity of being kindly to the sons of the nation&nbsp;who fell under misguidance for long decades.”</p>
<p>Bin Laden’s words show he had a&nbsp;more nuanced approach to political Islamists than is widely believed. Even though al Qaeda has harshly criticized the Brotherhood, bin Laden still saw its rule as a “half solution” that was better than the previous regimes.</p>
<p>Of course, in Egypt and elsewhere, events did not transpire exactly as bin Laden had hoped.</p>
<p>Regardless,&nbsp;in the wake of the political revolutions, Bin Laden approved Rahman’s request to allow certain al Qaeda operatives to return to their home countries. He told Rahman that he had previously written of “the necessity of sending some qualified brothers to the field of the revolutions in their countries, to attempt to run things in a wise and jurisprudent manner in coordination with the Islamic powers there.”</p>
<p>While we only have a small subset of bin Laden’s&nbsp;internal correspondence, the letters we do have show that al Qaeda was much more keen to exploit&nbsp;developments throughout the Arab world than <a href="http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/27/time-to-declare-victory-al-qaeda-is-defeated-opinion/">some Western analysts</a> believed.</p>
<p>In addition to Abu Anas al Libi and ‘Urwah al Libi, al Qaeda dispatched other trusted lieutenants to Libya to lead its efforts.</p>
<p>In 2011, Ayman al Zawahiri sent his own emissary, Abd al Baset Azzouz, to Libya. Azzouz <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/09/treasury_designation_1.php">had approximately 200 fighters</a> in his al Qaeda group at one point. Azzouz was <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/12/representative_of_ay.php">reportedly captured</a> in Turkey late last year.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-backed-syria-rebel-group-dissolves-itself-after-losses-2015-3" >One of the main US-backed Syrian rebel groups just admitted defeat</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thomas-joscelyn-al-qaeda-was-planning-to-hijack-the-arab-spring-2015-3#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-accused-aide-to-osama-bin-laden-opposed-calls-for-violence-jury-told-2015-2Osama bin Laden's accused right hand man 'opposed' violent ideologyhttp://www.businessinsider.com/r-accused-aide-to-osama-bin-laden-opposed-calls-for-violence-jury-told-2015-2
Thu, 19 Feb 2015 18:53:00 -0500Joseph Ax
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/54e6657b5afbd3d20c8b456c-450-300/accused-aide-to-osama-bin-laden-opposed-calls-for-violence-jury-told.jpg" border="0" alt="A courtroom sketch shows Khalid al-Fawwaz, a 52-year-old Saudi national, during closing arguments of his trial in the New York Federal Court February 18, 2015. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg "></p><p></p>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - A lawyer for a Saudi man accused by U.S. prosecutors of acting as Osama bin Laden’s lieutenant argued at the close of his trial on Thursday that he was a peaceful dissident who found the al Qaeda leader's violent ideology abhorrent.</p>
<p>Khalid al-Fawwaz is charged with participating in several al Qaeda conspiracies, including one that resulted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, but he is not accused of planning the attacks.</p>
<p>Instead, the government has said he provided crucial groundwork that facilitated the plot, such as sending equipment to al Qaeda members and functioning as bin Laden's "man in London."</p>
<p>Defense lawyer Bobbi Sternheim told jurors in federal court in Manhattan that the government was trying to make al-Fawwaz guilty by association.</p>
<p>“This case seemed like it was the United States against Osama bin Laden,” she said in closing arguments at the month-long trial.</p>
<p>Sternheim said al-Fawwaz was a dissident who worked with bin Laden in the early 1990s to press for reforms in their native Saudi Arabia but turned away from him when he declared war on the United States.</p>
<p>Wednesday and earlier on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley accused al-Fawwaz of serving as one of bin Laden’s most trusted associates for years, helping him disseminate threats against American civilians and acting as his “gateway to the West.”</p>
<p>The jury is expected to begin deliberations on Monday. Al-Fawwaz faces up to life in prison if convicted.</p>
<p>Al-Fawwaz also operated an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in the early 1990s and helped lead an al Qaeda cell in Nairobi, Kenya, that conducted surveillance ahead of the embassy bombing there, according to prosecutors.</p>
<p>But Sternheim said there was little evidence to show what al-Fawwaz did during his time in Afghanistan and Kenya that would rise to the level of criminal activity.</p>
<p>She also questioned the provenance of a supposed list of al Qaeda members, found by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan, that included al-Fawwaz.</p>
<p>“We don’t know who wrote this list,” she said, comparing it to McCarthy-era lists of purported Communists.</p>
<p>Al-Fawwaz was arrested in London in 1998 and extradited to the United States in 2012 following a protracted legal battle.</p>
<p>The case is U.S. v Khalid al-Fawwaz in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 98-1023.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">(Editing by Grant McCool)</span></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-accused-aide-to-osama-bin-laden-opposed-calls-for-violence-jury-told-2015-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-says-saudi-was-bin-ladens-man-in-london-2015-2The US says this guy was bin Laden's 'man in London'http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-says-saudi-was-bin-ladens-man-in-london-2015-2
Wed, 18 Feb 2015 17:53:00 -0500David Ingram
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/54e5177eeab8ea7f3af8ab60-840-630/terrorist-3.jpg" border="0" alt="terrorist">A US prosecutor asked a jury on Wednesday to find a Saudi man guilty of conspiring with al Qaeda in the 1990s when he allegedly managed a training camp in Afghanistan and then served as Osama bin Laden's agent in London.</span></p>
<p>Near the end of a month-long trial of Khalid al-Fawwaz, Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Buckley told jurors in a closing argument that they had seen enough evidence to convict al-Fawwaz of four terrorism counts.</p>
<p>"Khalid al-Fawwaz did everything that al Qaeda asked of him," Buckley said in Manhattan federal court.</p>
<p>As al-Fawwaz looked on, Buckley called him bin Laden's "man in London."</p>
<p>The charges include participating in al Qaeda's years-long conspiracy to kill Americans.</p>
<p>Al-Fawwaz is not charged with any killings, but prosecutors say he provided crucial support that laid the groundwork for attacks such as the 1998 bombings at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. Those bombings killed 224 people and wounded thousands more.</p>
<p>In 1998, al-Fawwaz helped to draft an al Qaeda declaration calling for the deaths of American civilians, Buckley said, citing what he said were wiretapped phone conversations from the time.</p>
<p>Al-Fawwaz's defense lawyers, who are scheduled to give a closing argument on Thursday, have previously described him as a peaceful dissident who abhorred violence as a means to achieve political ends.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54e513e95afbd312478b4578-450-300/us-says-saudi-was-bin-ladens-man-in-london.jpg" border="0" alt="A courtroom sketch shows Khalid al-Fawwaz, a 52-year-old Saudi national, during closing arguments of his trial in the New York Federal Court February 18, 2015. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg ">His lawyers have also questioned the strength of the government's evidence, such as an alleged al Qaeda membership list that U.S. soldiers found in Afghanistan. Prosecutors say one name on the list was a pseudonym for al-Fawwaz.</p>
<p>Al-Fawwaz, 52, was arrested in 1998 in London and brought to the United States in 2012 after a lengthy extradition fight. He could be sentenced to life in sentence if convicted.</p>
<p>The jury would begin deliberations on Monday under a schedule laid out by U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan.</p>
<p>(Reporting by David Ingram; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-us-says-saudi-was-bin-ladens-man-in-london-2015-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-head-of-the-militant-group-responsible-for-the-benghazi-attack-reportedly-met-with-osama-bin-laden-2015-2A planner of the Benghazi attack reportedly met with Osama bin Ladenhttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-head-of-the-militant-group-responsible-for-the-benghazi-attack-reportedly-met-with-osama-bin-laden-2015-2
Thu, 12 Feb 2015 09:40:00 -0500Thomas Joscelyn
<p class="p1"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/54dbbce969bedde509fd9830-600-/benghazi-37.jpg" border="0" alt="benghazi" width="600"></p><p>Shortly before his own <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/02/influential_aqap_ide.php"><span class="s1">death in a US airstrike on Jan. 31</span></a>, Harith al Nadhari, a senior sharia official in Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), recorded an audio eulogy for another slain jihadist, Mohammed al Zahawi.</p>
<p class="p1">Ansar al Sharia Libya confirmed earlier in the month that Zahawi, the group's leader, had died of wounds he suffered while fighting in Benghazi. And Nadhari wanted to make it clear that al Qaeda considered Zahawi to be a "martyr."</p>
<p class="p1">Nadhari's audio recording, which was released via Twitter on Feb. 6, has been translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.</p>
<p class="p1">Like other Ansar al Sharia leaders in <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/11/ansar_al_sharia_egyp.php"><span class="s1">Egypt</span></a>, <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/01/an_ex-guantanamo_det.php"><span class="s1">Libya</span></a> and <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/10/al_qaeda_ally_orches.php"><span class="s1">Tunisia</span></a>, Zahawi had an al Qaeda pedigree. In Yemen, <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/10/state_department_ans.php"><span class="s1">Ansar al Sharia is merely a front for AQAP</span></a>.</p>
<p class="p1">"Sheikh al Zahawi, may Allah have mercy on him, began his march in [the] mid-nineties," Nadhari explained, according to SITE.</p>
<p class="p1">"Allah guided him [to] meet the reviving Imam Osama bin Laden when Osama was in Sudan. Zahawi took from his determination and learned from his methodology, then he was captured quickly by the Saud government, the traitor to Allah and His Messenger," he continued.</p>
<p class="p1">Zahawi's meeting with bin Laden in the 1990s is a strong indication that he had long operated within al Qaeda's network. His dossier since then buttresses the point.</p>
<p class="p1"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/50e5b8c669bedd210600000e-1200-858/al jazeera osama.jpg" border="0" alt="al jazeera osama bin laden" style="color: #000000;"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Nadhari did not explain why Zahawi was detained by the Saudi government, but the implication is that Zahawi was involved in jihadist activities inside the kingdom. Nadhari said that Zahawi was delivered to Muammar al Qaddafi's regime, which "harmed" him during his "years of imprisonment," but "did not weaken his strength nor lessen his determination nor destabilized his faith."</span></p>
<p class="p1">Nadhari also offered a call for jihadist unity in Libya, saying that the mission was not completed when Qaddafi fell. Some of Nadhari's audio message appears to implicitly address the infighting between the Islamic State's supporters in Libya and the jihadists in Ansar al Sharia and other groups who refuse to swear allegiance to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.</p>
<p class="p1">In his eulogy of Zahawi, the deceased AQAP official called on the "mujahideen in all your different groups, factions, and brigades" to come together to fight General Khalifa Haftar's forces and the West, which supposedly seeks to prohibit the implementation of sharia law in Libya. "Align the rank and unite the purpose," Nadhari said, adding that the jihadists should "overcome" their "passing disputes ... despite the differences in affiliations and individual opinions."</p>
<p class="p1">AQAP is not the only official branch of al Qaeda to mourn Zahawi. Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) issued its own eulogy for the deceased Ansar al Sharia Libya leader online.</p>
<p class="p1"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/52af31426bb3f7597c43dd66-1200-858/ap855519413656-2.jpg" border="0" alt="Benghazi US consulate burned attack"></p>
<h3 class="p1"><strong>Ansar al Sharia Libya part of al Qaeda's international network</strong></h3>
<p class="p1">In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya, a popular meme held that Ansar al Sharia was just a "local" jihadist group and was not part of al Qaeda's international network. Abundant evidence at the time indicated that this was false.</p>
<p class="p1">For instance, <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/09/al_qaedas_plan_for_l.php"><span class="s1">a report published in August 2012</span></a> by the Library of Congress and the Defense Department's Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO), "Al Qaeda in Libya: A Profile," connected Ansar al Sharia to al Qaeda's clandestine network inside Libya. The report's authors pointed out that one prominent Ansar al Sharia leader in Derna, Sufian Ben Qumu, is <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/01/an_ex-guantanamo_det.php"><span class="s1">an ex-Guantanamo detainee who served as an al Qaeda operative</span></a> before his detention by US forces. Other facts demonstrated Ansar al Sharia's ties to al Qaeda as well.</p>
<p class="p1">Ironically enough, the participation of Ansar al Sharia fighters in the 9/11/12 Benghazi attack was itself an indication that the group was, at a minimum, colluding with various al Qaeda branches. At least <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/01/_intelligence_on_al.php"><span class="s1">three other al Qaeda groups took part in the raid</span></a> on the US Mission and Annex that night.</p>
<p class="p1">Jihadists from both AQAP and AQIM were involved in the assault, as were members of the so-called Muhammad Jamal Network (MJN). AQAP and AQIM are formal branches of al Qaeda, while the MJN was led by an Egyptian who was first trained by al Qaeda in the late 1980s and had long been a subordinate to Ayman al Zawahiri.</p>
<p class="p1">Ansar al Sharia's role in al Qaeda's global network was eventually recognized by the United Nations Security Council, which <a href="http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/11/un_designates_ansar.php"><span class="s1">added the group to its al Qaeda sanctions list</span></a> in November 2014. The UN did not directly sanction Zahawi, but did identify him as Ansar al Sharia's leader in Benghazi. The UN <a href="http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQE14614E.shtml"><span class="s1">also noted</span></a> that Ansar al Sharia in Benghazi works closely with AQIM and Al Mourabitoun, an AQIM offshoot that remains loyal to Ayman al Zawahiri.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iranian-generals-keep-dying-in-iraq-2015-2" >Iranian generals keep dying in Iraq</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-head-of-the-militant-group-responsible-for-the-benghazi-attack-reportedly-met-with-osama-bin-laden-2015-2#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-men-cheat-affair-love-sex-psychotherapist-2015-1">Research Reveals Why Men Cheat, And It's Not What You Think</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/al-qaeda-is-back-in-big-way-2015-1Al Qaeda Is Back In A Big Wayhttp://www.businessinsider.com/al-qaeda-is-back-in-big-way-2015-1
Wed, 14 Jan 2015 17:28:00 -0500Armin Rosen
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/53fd026269beddfa5b8b4567-600-/rtxywnm.jpg" border="0" alt="Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula" width="600"></p><p>Despite its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-al-qaeda-in-yemen-claims-responsibility-for-paris-attack-2015-1">claim of responsibility earlier today</a>, there's a lot that isn't publicly known about Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's connection to last week's attacks by <span>Cherif and Said Kouachi</span>&nbsp;in Paris.</p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Said previously traveled to Yemen, met with influential Al Qaeda propagandist Anwar Al Awlaki, <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/paris-attacker-said-kouachi-knew-convicted-nigerian-airline-bomber-1421005446">befriended</a> the man behind the failed "underwear bomb" attempt, and received training and perhaps some seed money for a future attack against the offices of the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.</span></p>
<p>But that was several years ago, long enough for the Kouachi brothers to have formulated the operational details of the plot on their own or with the assistance of other, yet-unknown accomplices.</p>
<p>The optics of today's announcement are still unmistakable. AQAP, which is part of a larger Al Qaeda network engaged in <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/09/02/the-islamic-state-vs-al-qaeda/">a struggle for jihadist</a> hearts and minds with the upstart Islamic State, just claimed credit for the most galvanizing jihadist terror attack on a Western target in years.</p>
<p>The terrorism in Paris highlights that al Qaeda's core didn't fade into irrelevance after the US invasion of Afghanistan and deaths of its top figures. Instead, it shifted leadership, expertise, and operational capabilities to Yemen (and to some extent Syria).</p>
<p>The global jihadist organization is now deeply entrenched in the troubled Arabian state.&nbsp;<span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/yemen-is-on-the-verge-of-exploding-2014-9">Yemen's government has disintegrated</a> in the face of threats from the Shi'ite Houthi rebel movement and AQAP. AQAP has also quietly pursued a successful ground-level hearts-and-minds strategy in order to build enough local support to ensure the group's long-term survival. And its top leaders have close ties to al Qaeda head Aymen al-Zawahiri, to the point where AQAP is more like the Western wing of Al Qaeda central than a true franchise.</span></p>
<p><span>"They have a robust internal safe haven and a dysfunctional government that the US has great difficulty partnering with, and the US's strategy is not very sound for the problem," Daniel Green, a defense fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Business Insider. "They have everything they need."</span></p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5474dccceab8ea7b13222db7-1200-800/drone strike rubble yemen.jpg" border="0" alt="Drone Strike Rubble Yemen"></p>
<h3>Al Qaeda's "Global General Manager"</h3>
<p><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The Arabian Peninsula has always been at the core of Al Qaeda's aims. Osama bin Laden was deeply incensed by the Saudi monarchy's agreement to host American troops during the Gulf War and dreamed of overthrowing his home country's royal family. There were a number of Yemenis at top levels in Al Qaeda's hierarchy both before and after the 9/11 attacks — including Nasir Abdel Karim Al Wuhayshi, current head of AQAP.</span></p>
<p>Wuhayshi was <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/markaz/posts/2015/01/10-paris-attacks-yemen-al-qaeda-terror-charlie-hebdo%20">bin Laden's secretary and assistant</a> until the fall of Afghanistan's Taliban regime in 2001. <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/08/09/meet-al-qaeda-s-new-general-manager-nasser-al-wuhayshi.html">As Eli Lake reported</a> for the Daily Beast in August of 2013, Wuhayshi had been<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;"picked to lead of one of the group’s four training camps in Tarnak Farms, where bin Laden himself often stayed." </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">As head of AQAP, Wuhayshi endorsed Ayman al-Zawahiri as bin Laden's successor. As Lake reported, the Egyptian ex-physician returned Wuhayshi's loyalty by elevating him to Al Qaeda's global general manager, "<span>able to call on the resources of al Qaeda’s affiliates throughout the Muslim world, according to one US intelligence official."</span></span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">In his book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Refuge-al-Qaeda-Americas/dp/0393082423">The Last Refuge: Yemen, Al Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia</a>, scholar Gregory D. Johsen <a href="http://www.lawfareblog.com/2012/11/gregory-johnsen-on-yemen-and-aqap/">recounts the organizational connections</a> between Wuhayshi and representatives of Al Qaeda's Saudi branch. Wuhayshi fled to Iran but was eventually deported to Yemen and imprisoned in 2003. He broke out in 2006, later teaming up with a number of ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees and other experienced al Qaeda hands to form AQAP in early 2009.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This organizational pedigree has allowed AQAP to function at a remarkably high level. It's won the allegiance of tribal leaders in Yemen's periphery by emphasizing local concerns over the imposition of religious law. It's assassinated dozens of figures in the Yemeni government and security apparatus, including the southern commander of Yemen's army in June of 2011 — and perpetrated numerous suicide attacks against Houthi targets as well (the Houthis are Shiites; Al Qaeda is Sunni). </span></p>
<p>"The have a very high-quality leadership cadre" says Green, noting that the group's bomb makers are particularly skilled.<span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/536d8db66bb3f7f573fc37c0-1200-858/ap101121913424.jpg" border="0" alt="Yemen policeman"></p>
<h3>Attacking External Targets</h3>
<div><span style="color: #222222; line-height: 1.5em;">Most Al Qaeda offshoots are absorbed with local concerns — Somalia's al Shabaab doesn't seem to have an agenda beyond the Horn of Africa, for instance, while Al Qaeda in Iraq had little apparent ambition to strike at foreign targets before it morphed into ISIS. AQAP has always been different.</span></div>
<p>Publicly available documents recovered from Osama Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan cautioned AQAP against focusing on internal state building in Yemen instead of striking at Al Qaeda's enemies abroad.</p>
<p>"From Al Qaeda Central's perspective, AQAP is sort of the special branch and the one most capable of mounting outside attacks,"&nbsp;<span>Brookings Institution fellow Will McCants told Business Insider</span>.</p>
<p>Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, agrees that the group is better suited towards outside attacks than other Al Qaeda affiliates.</p>
<p>"AQAP has had more external operations capabilities, and has had the most external operations capabilities of any AQ affiliate for some time," says Gartenstein-Ross. "Part of it could be that AQAP has a green light to carry out attacks and other affiliates don't."</p>
<p>This doesn't mean that AQAP's claim of responsibility for the attack in Paris is airtight. But it could still<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">&nbsp;draw attention to Al Qaeda central's successful reconstitution of itself within Yemen's political and social vacuum.</span></p>
<p>"It's clear that a lot of core leadership has made it way to Yemen and is part of AQAP," says Gartenstein-Ross.</p>
<p>And they're still major players in the global jihadist scene, able to claim a concrete link to a major attack on Western soil.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/boko-harams-insurgency-is-now-one-of-the-deadliest-conflicts-on-earth-2015-1" >Boko Haram's insurgency is now one of the deadliest conflicts on earth</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/al-qaeda-is-back-in-big-way-2015-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/1993-independent-article-about-osama-bin-laden-2013-12This Mind-Boggling Profile Of Osama Bin Laden Came Out 21 Years Agohttp://www.businessinsider.com/1993-independent-article-about-osama-bin-laden-2013-12
Wed, 10 Dec 2014 06:37:18 -0500Michael B Kelley and Geoffrey Ingersoll
<p>This <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/antisoviet-warrior-puts-his-army-on-the-road-to-peace-the-saudi-businessman-who-recruited-mujahedin-now-uses-them-for-largescale-building-projects-in-sudan-robert-fisk-met-him-in-almatig-1465715.html">article from&nbsp;</a><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/antisoviet-warrior-puts-his-army-on-the-road-to-peace-the-saudi-businessman-who-recruited-mujahedin-now-uses-them-for-largescale-building-projects-in-sudan-robert-fisk-met-him-in-almatig-1465715.html">Dec. 6, 1993, </a><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/antisoviet-warrior-puts-his-army-on-the-road-to-peace-the-saudi-businessman-who-recruited-mujahedin-now-uses-them-for-largescale-building-projects-in-sudan-robert-fisk-met-him-in-almatig-1465715.html"></a> by Robert Fisk of The Independent, titled, "Anti-Soviet warrior puts his army on the road to peace," is stunning to consider 20 years later.</p>
<p>Osama bin Laden, fresh off the&nbsp;<a href="http://partners.nytimes.com/library/world/africa/021689afghan-laden.html">US-backed mujahadin</a>'s victory&nbsp;over&nbsp;Russia in 1989,&nbsp;flew his men, materials and money down to Sudan, ostensibly to start public works projects.</p>
<p>When asked if they were militant training camps, the "Saudi entrepreneur" and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/11-things-we-learned-from-osama-bin-ladens-abbottabad-documents-2012-5">future leader of al Qaeda</a> told Fisk: "I am a construction engineer and an agriculturalist. If I had training camps here in Sudan, I couldn't possibly do this job."</p>
<p><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/52a1c37869bedd476f5aaefd-800-/independent-1993%20(1)-1.jpeg" border="0" alt="independent 1993 (1)" width="800"><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/antisoviet-warrior-puts-his-army-on-the-road-to-peace-the-saudi-businessman-who-recruited-mujahedin-now-uses-them-for-largescale-building-projects-in-sudan-robert-fisk-met-him-in-almatig-1465715.html">The piece</a> is fascinating because it is a positive profile of a man who would become a global terrorist mastermind.</p>
<p>Some key lines:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<p>"OSAMA Bin Laden sat in his gold- fringed robe, guarded by the loyal Arab mujahedin ..."</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>"With his high cheekbones, narrow eyes and long brown robe, Mr Bin Laden looks every inch the mountain warrior of mujahedin legend."</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>"He is a shy man. ... &nbsp;married - with four wives - but wary of the press."</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>"Was it not a little bit anti-climactic for them, I asked, to fight the Russians and end up road-building in Sudan?"&nbsp;</p>
</li>
</ul>
<p>Bin Laden's work in Sudan purportedly involved overseeing a 500-mile highway from Khartoum to Port Sudan.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Fisk reported that "Bin Laden has brought the very construction equipment that he used only five years ago to build the guerrilla trails of Afghanistan."</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-navy-seal-matt-bissonnette-describes-the-bin-laden-raid-2012-9#ixzz2mgsB3l91" >How Navy SEAL Matt Bissonnette Describes The Bin Laden Raid</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/1993-independent-article-about-osama-bin-laden-2013-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/cia-lied-about-osama-bin-ladens-capture-2014-12The CIA Reportedly Lied About How We Got Bin Ladenhttp://www.businessinsider.com/cia-lied-about-osama-bin-ladens-capture-2014-12
Wed, 10 Dec 2014 04:30:00 -0500Ken Dilanian
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/548810b1eab8eaea5ba0cb5f-480-/osama-bin-laden-10.jpg" border="0" alt="Osama Bin Laden" width="480"></p><p>After Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan in May 2011, top CIA officials secretly told lawmakers that information gleaned from brutal interrogations played a key role in what was one of the spy agency's greatest successes.</p>
<p>Then-CIA Director Leon Panetta repeated that assertion in public, and it found its way into a critically acclaimed movie about the operation, "Zero Dark Thirty," which depicts a detainee offering up the identity of bin Laden's courier, Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, after being tortured at a secret CIA interrogation site.</p>
<p>As it turned out, bin Laden was living in al-Kuwaiti's walled family compound, so tracking the courier was the key to finding the Al Qaeda leader.</p>
<p>But the CIA's story, like the Hollywood one, is just not true, the Senate report on CIA interrogations concludes in a 14,000-word section of the report's public summary.</p>
<p>"A review of CIA records found that the initial intelligence obtained, as well as the information the CIA identified as the most critical or the most valuable on Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti, was not related to the use of the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques," the Senate investigation found.</p>
<p>CIA officials disagree, and maintain that detainees subjected to coercive tactics provided crucial details.</p>
<p>"It is impossible to know in hindsight whether we could have obtained ... the same information that helped us find bin Laden without using enhanced techniques," the agency said in its written response.</p>
<p>The Senate report, released Tuesday, attempts to methodically debunk the CIA's case. Investigators found that the CIA repeatedly mischaracterized to congressional oversight committees what information about al-Kuwaiti and bin Laden came from detainees after they were brutally interrogated, and that in many cases, they discussed the courier before being subjected to rough treatment.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5488130969beddec7263cd84-1200-924/leon-panetta-5.jpg" border="0" alt="Leon Panetta"></p>
<p>The report also points out that the CIA didn't receive any information from CIA detainees on al-Kuwaiti until 2003. Yet by the end of 2002, the CIA had gathered significant information about al-Kuwaiti and his close links to bin Laden, including:</p>
<ul>
<li>His phone number: In March 2002, his phone number was in Al Qaeda detainee Abu Zubaydah's address book under the heading "Abu Ahmad K." In June 2002, a person using the identified phone number and believed at the time to be "al-Kuwaiti" called a number associated with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind.</li>
<li>His email address: In September 2002, the CIA received reporting on al-Kuwaiti's email address from a detainee in foreign custody. When Mohammed was captured in March 2003, an email address associated with al-Kuwaiti was found on his laptop.</li>
<li>His age, physical description, and family information.</li>
<li>His association with bin Laden: In April 2002, the CIA linked al-Kuwaiti to a phone number associated with one of bin Laden's sons. And on June 25, 2002, the CIA received reporting from another detainee in the custody of a foreign government, known as Riyadh the Facilitator, that al-Kuwaiti may have served as a bin Laden courier.</li>
</ul>
<p>In its response, the CIA said the intelligence "was insufficient to distinguish al-Kuwaiti from many other bin Laden associates until additional information from detainees put it into context and allowed CIA to better understand his true role and potential in the hunt for bin Laden. As such, the information CIA obtained from these detainees did play a role — in combination with other streams of intelligence — in finding the al-Qaida leader."</p>
<p>The CIA also said that two detainees, Ammar al-Baluchi and Hassan Ghul, provided crucial information. Al-Baluchi, after undergoing enhanced interrogation techniques, "was the first detainee to reveal what apparently was a carefully guarded al-Qaida secret — that Abu Ahmad served as a courier for messages to and from bin Laden," the CIA said.</p>
<p>Ghul, after brutal interrogations, stated that Abu Ahmad al-Kuwaiti passed a letter from bin Laden to another operative in late 2003, the CIA said.</p>
<p>Senate investigators counter that al-Baluchi recanted information he gave after underdoing harsh interrogations, then went back and forth about whether al-Kuwaiti was a bin Laden courier.</p>
<p>As for Ghul, he offered "the most detailed and accurate intelligence collected from a CIA detainee" on al-Kuwaiti's links to bin Laden before the agency began using harsh techniques against him, investigators found.</p>
<p>Before he was roughed up, the report says, Ghul speculated to a CIA interrogator that bin Laden "likely has maintained a small security signature of circa one or two persons," and that "Abu Ahmed likely handled all of UBL's needs, including moving messages out."</p>
<p>That turned out to be accurate. Bin Laden was living with his wife and two other families, including al-Kuwaiti's.</p>
<p>The next day, Ghul was "shaved and barbered, stripped and placed in the standing position against the wall" with "his hands above his head" for 40 minutes.</p>
<p>He then was subjected to 59 hours of sleep deprivation, which led him to begin hallucinating. He also experienced "mild paralysis" from the stress positions.</p>
<p>He provided "no actionable intelligence" during or after the treatment, the report says.</p>
<div>
<p><em>Copyright (2014) Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.</em></p>
</div><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-senate-is-about-to-release-the-cia-torture-report-2014-12" >The CIA Torture Details Are Appalling</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cia-lied-about-osama-bin-ladens-capture-2014-12#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-seal-team-6-2014-11Meet 'Seal Team 6,' The Guys Who Killed Osama Bin Laden — And Whose Members Are Now Going Publichttp://www.businessinsider.com/meet-seal-team-6-2014-11
Fri, 14 Nov 2014 11:31:00 -0500Business Insider
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/4dbee648cadcbb2870150000/seal.jpg" border="0" alt="seal"></p><p>After last week's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-rob-oneill-it-felt-like-we-werent-going-to-come-back-from-the-bin-laden-operation-2014-11">Fox News interview</a>&nbsp;with Robert O'Neill, two of the members of SEAL Team 6 involved in the raid that killed Osama Bin Laden have gone public with their stories of what's already one of the most legendary US military operations in history.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">This public profile goes against decades of SEAL culture. Before O'Neill's interview and Matt Bissonnette's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/No-Easy-Day-Autobiography-Firsthand/dp/0525953728">best-selling book</a> partly about the raid, the SEALs — and Team 6 in particular — were known for being highly secretive.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Officially, the team's name is classified and not available to the public. Technically, there is no Team 6. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">A Tier-One counter-terrorism force similar to the Army's elusive Delta group, Team 6's missions rarely become public. The Fox interview with O'Neill, who claims to have killed Bin Laden, is a major break with decades of SEAL protocol.</span></p>
<p>But so is the government's entire handling of the Bin Laden raid, the details of which have been widely disseminated in the three years since. It shows how important the publicity about Bin Laden's killing is to the US that Team 6 was&nbsp;<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8487355/Osama-bin-Laden-killed-how-the-deadly-US-raid-unfolded.html">front-page news</a>, or that a movie like "Zero Dark Thirty" was ever made — the latter <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/12/20/212378_zero-dark-thirty-leak-investigators.html?rh=1">thanks to a series of leaks</a> by top defense and intelligence officials.</p>
<p>The members of Team 6 are all "black" operatives. They exist outside military protocol, engaging in operations that are at the highest level of classification — and often outside the boundaries of international law. To maintain plausible deniability in case they are caught, records of black operations are rarely, if ever, kept.</p>
<p><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5463b4a16da8114c57831367-1200-522/rtr2twn3.jpg" border="0" alt="RTR2TWN3"></p>
<p>The development of SEAL Team 6 was in direct response to <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2006/05/the-desert-one-debacle/304803/">the botched 1980 attempt</a> to rescue the American hostages held in Iran. The failure of a US mission to extract the hostages illustrated the need for a dedicated counter-terrorist team capable of operating with the utmost secrecy.</p>
<p>The Team was labeled 6 at the time to confuse Soviet intelligence about the number of SEAL teams in operation when the team was formed. There were only two others.</p>
<p><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5463bfe269bedd4e15a1257e-1200-858/rtr6i2m.jpg" border="0" alt="RTR6I2M"></p>
<p>Team 6 poached the top operatives from other SEAL units and trained them even more intensely from there.</p>
<p>Even among proven SEALs the attrition rate for Team 6 is reported to be <a href="http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/12/army_sofsurge_122008w/">nearly half</a>. T<span style="line-height: 1.5em;">he CIA also recruits heavily from their numbers for their Special Operations Group.</span></p>
<p>Team 6 is normally devoted to missions with maritime authority: ship rescues, or raids on oil rigs, naval bases or land bases accessible by water. O'Neill was also <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-hardest-part-of-being-a-seal-2014-11">involved in the Mearsk Alabama raid in 2009,</a> the daring hostage rescue at sea that was turned into the film "Captain Philips."</p>
<p><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5463c1696da8112d1c831367-1200-924/rtr11g2.jpg" border="0" alt="RTR11G2"></p>
<p>When a former Navy SEAL was called for a comment about this article all he could say was: "You know I'd love to help you man, but I can't say a word about Team 6. There is no Team 6."</p>
<p><em>This report is originally by Robert Johnson.</em></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/seal-who-says-he-shot-osama-responds-to-reports-hes-lying-2014-11" >The SEAL who says he shot Bin Laden responds to critics who say he's lying</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-seal-team-6-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11The Man Who Says He Shot Bin Laden Told His Story To A Room Full Of 9/11 Families http://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11
Thu, 13 Nov 2014 00:50:37 -0500Hunter Walker
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/545c1cc86da81178744d9dd9-600-/rob-oneill.jpg" border="0" alt="Rob O'Neill " width="600"></p><p></p>
<p><em>Fox News aired the second half of their exclusive two-part documentary "The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden" on Wednesday evening. It concluded with footage showing former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill meeting with families of people who were killed in the September 11th attacks earlier this year. O'Neill has said that is the moment he decided to go public and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-robert-oneill-told-his-story-to-911-families-2014-11">Business Insider published the story behind that day last Thursday</a>.&nbsp;</em></p>
<p>Former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill has said he decided to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/robert-oneill-confirms-hes-ex-seal-who-says-he-shot-osama-2014-11">reveal himself as the man who shot and killed Al Qaeda founder Osama Bin Laden</a> after sharing his story of the 2011 raid on the terrorist leader's compound with a group of people at the 9/11 Memorial Museum earlier this year.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) was in the room with O'Neill that day.</p>
<p>The congresswoman, who describes O'Neill as "a friend," told Business Insider on Thursday that the ex-SEAL was there for a ceremony marking the donation of a shirt he wore during the raid to the museum. Maloney, who said she helped arrange for O'Neill's shirt to be exhibited at the museum, said the people in attendance included families of people who died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and "leaders" from police and fire departments.</p>
<p>"People were in tears, and the room was not that big," Maloney recounted. "I'd say it was 30 people … maybe 30 people. It was a selective group, and I asked to have a ceremony for the donation of the shirt. And we came in and had the quiet ceremony, and it meant a lot."</p>
<p>O'Neill first publicly said he was the person who fired the shot that killed Bin Laden in an <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/ex-seal-robert-oneill-reveals-himself-as-shooter-who-killed-osama-bin-laden/2014/11/06/2bf46f3e-65dc-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html">interview with The Washington Post</a> that was published Thursday. However, in the wake of that story, Reuters <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-who-shot-bin-laden-former-us-navy-seals-make-rival-claims-2014-11">released a report</a> about an anonymous source "close to another SEAL team member" who disputed the claim O'Neill killed Bin Laden.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The Washington Post article was not supposed to be O'Neill's public debut. He had been planning to reveal himself in a Fox News documentary and a story in the newspaper later this month. However, on Monday, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/report-the-navy-seal-who-shot-bin-laden-has-been-identified-2014-11">the website SOFREP identified him</a>. O'Neill told The Post he "spontaneously" decided to share his story at the 9/11 Memorial Museum.</p>
<p>"The families told me it helped bring them some closure," O'Neill said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>O'Neill's shirt is adorned with an American flag patch. Rather than the traditional red, white, and blue, it is black to aid in camouflage for nighttime missions.&nbsp;</p>
<p>According to Maloney, the shirt ceremony took place&nbsp;in a family room at the museum where the family members had "pictures of their lost loved ones."&nbsp;</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/545c3eacecad04d43e028e55-1200-924/carolyn-maloney.jpg" border="0" alt="Carolyn Maloney" width="480">"I&nbsp;was very active on the 9/11 response; I authored a great number of bills working in a bipartisan way to make America safer after 9/11, did a lot of work with the 9/11 families that lost their loved ones, and I arranged for him to come and speak to some of them," Maloney said. "I'd like for him to do more of that now that he came out in public. I think that he would help bring closure to many of them and, you know, that's the reason we were over there, the reason he went on the mission was for the 9/11 families."</p>
<p>Maloney told Business Insider that, in her many years working with the relatives of people who were killed in the Sept. 11 attacks, she had never seen them react as they did after hearing O'Neill's story.</p>
<p>"We were in numerous meetings, numerous press conferences — I've never seen an emotional response as I saw in that room," Maloney said. "I&nbsp;saw men and women just break down crying. It was closure to them. It was important to them to see him, to really hear in his own words why it was important for him to go on that mission."</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/545c3f446bb3f79830f16fcf-1200-800/ap367363600171.jpg" border="0" alt="9/11 Memorial" width="480">Joseph Zadroga was one of the people Maloney said was in attendance at the ceremony. His son, James Zadroga, was a New York City police officer. James died of respiratory disease in 2006 and became the first officer whose death was attributed to exposure to chemicals while working at the site of the Sept. 11 attacks in Manhattan.</p>
<p>Maloney cosponsored legislation designed to provide healthcare and monitoring for 9/11 responders in 2006. It was named the James Zadroga Act. She said that of the family members in attendance at the ceremony, Joseph Zadroga's reaction to O'Neill stood out for her. &nbsp;</p>
<p>"It meant the world to them. It meant the world to hear what it was like. Many people were crying," Maloney said. "I mean, I can't tell you what a tough guy James Zadroga's father is. He's a police officer, great big strong man, and he was in absolute tears."</p>
<p>Maloney also stressed that other residents of New York were intensely interested in the circumstances of Bin Laden's death.</p>
<p>"You could hear a collective sigh of relief from all of New York when Bin Laden was killed," Maloney said. "We are grateful to the Navy SEALs, and to the CIA, and to all the military that are part of training these incredible people. The people that I am privileged to represent, they wanted to know what happened to Bin Laden."</p>
<p>Though O'Neill identified himself as the person who fired the shot that killed the Al Qaeda leader, Maloney felt he never attempted to take individual credit for the operation.</p>
<p>"He never talks about this incident except with we — we on the team," Maloney said. "When he gave the shirt, he gave it in the name of the entire team. He's really into giving credit to his distinguished allies."</p>
<p>Still, Maloney said the raid ended in a direct confrontation between two men: O'Neill and Bin Laden.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"I think that the last person Bin Laden saw was looking into Robert O'Neill's eyes, and he saw that flag on his shirt — he saw the American flag," Maloney said. "He looked into his eyes. He's the last person he saw. He's an American hero."&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/seal-who-says-he-shot-osama-responds-to-reports-hes-lying-2014-11The Navy SEAL Who Says He Shot Bin Laden Responds To People Who Say He's Lyinghttp://www.businessinsider.com/seal-who-says-he-shot-osama-responds-to-reports-hes-lying-2014-11
Thu, 13 Nov 2014 00:38:00 -0500Hunter Walker and Amanda Macias
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/5464463eeab8eaca752221dd-1200-798/speaking-robertoneill-copyright2014robertjoneill.jpg" border="0" alt="rob o'neill"></p><p>Robert O'Neill, the former Navy SEAL who says he shot Osama Bin Laden, has an answer for his critics.</p>
<p>In the second half <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11">of his exclusive interview with Fox News</a>, which was broadcast Wednesday, O'Neill discussed the possibility people might question his story.</p>
<p>Since the Fox News special was filmed, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-who-shot-bin-laden-former-us-navy-seals-make-rival-claims-2014-11">sources with knowledge of the 2011 raid on Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan have reportedly questioned O'Neill's claim he fired the fatal shot at the Al Qaeda leader</a>. O'Neill told Fox News he was aware people might be skeptical of his story and pre-emptively offered a rebuttal.</p>
<p>"It's one of those things where, you know, I heard from a guy, that heard from a guy, that heard from a guy, and then, it's all of a sudden, it turns into a different story," said O'Neill. "Again, it doesn't bother me, because, you know, there were two people that were there. Unless you were in the room at the time, you only know what you were told,"</p>
<p>He told Fox News he confronted Bin Laden directly and shot him three times. O'Neill's story is slightly different from the one presented in a 2012 book about the raid by another former SEAL, Matt Bissonette.</p>
<p>In his book, Bissonette wrote that he was the number two person in line as the U.S. soldiers entered the room where Bin Laden was. Bissonette also said he fired shots at Bin Laden when the Al Qaeda leader was on the ground.&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, O'Neill said he was the second SEAL into the room after another one of his colleagues cleared people out of the way. He also said he killed Bin Laden after shooting him in the head multiple times.&nbsp;</p>
<p>O'Neill addressed the discrepancy between his story and Bissonette's book in his interview with Fox News.</p>
<p>"I think that war is foggy and I think that the author is telling the story as he saw it and also based on the debrief the he heard," said O'Neill.</p>
<p>O'Neill told Fox News the military debriefing Bisonette and other SEAL team members heard was "fairly accurate."</p>
<div>"The debrief was just cleaned up, it was missing a few details," he explained.&nbsp;</div>
<p>O'Neill also insisted the bullets from his gun unquestionably killed Bin Laden whether or not other SEALs fired their own shots before or after he hit the Al Qaeda leader. &nbsp;</p>
<p>"When I went in the room, I cant say for 100% that he was hit when I went in the room, he could have been," said O'Neill of Bin Laden. "He was definitely on two feet and he was definitely moving. So, you know, he was there and I'll take ten lie detectors on that one."&nbsp;</p>
<p>Currently, both Bissonette and O'Neill face scorn from their Navy SEAL counterparts for not only violating non-disclosure agreements but for pursuing public attention on the backs of what was a team effort.</p>
<p class="p1">"I don’t feel like the Navy owes me anything. I don’t feel like I owe the Navy anything. My only regret is that, I miss my guys,” O’Neill said.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1"><span>After the Bin Laden raid, O'Neill went on his 12th and final deployment with the Navy SEALs and decided he wanted "a clean break" from the military community. O'Neill has been touring the nation as a motivational speaker.</span><span><br></span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11" >How A 27-Year-Old Reporter Landed An Interview With The Alleged Bin Laden Shooter </a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/seal-who-says-he-shot-osama-responds-to-reports-hes-lying-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-reporter-2014-11This Is The Fox News Reporter Who Found The Alleged Bin Laden Shooterhttp://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-reporter-2014-11
Wed, 12 Nov 2014 23:59:00 -0500Amanda Macias
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5462bb156da811a070cb38f2-839-629/peter-doocy.jpg" border="0" alt="peter doocy"></span></p>
<p><em>Fox News aired the second half of an exclusive two-part interview with Robert O'Neill, the former Navy SEAL who says he shot Osama Bin Laden on Wednesday evening. Business Insider published a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11">story based on a conversation with Peter Doocy</a>, the young reporter who got the scoop, on Tuesday.</em></p>
<p>In the late hours of May 1, 2011 news broke that US security forces killed&nbsp;Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden&nbsp;and Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, ran out of his apartment in Washington D.C. &nbsp;</p>
<p>"I got down to the White House and just celebrated on Pennsylvania Avenue late on a Sunday night with thousands of people and it was a night that I will never forget. Everyone just shared this great feeling of, we got him," Doocy told Business Insider in an interview.</p>
<p>Almost three and a half years later, Doocy, 27, uncovered the identity of the man who said he fired the fatal shot, former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill. Doocy managed to land the first televised interview with O'Neill, which is being broadcast on Fox News Tuesday and Wednesday night this week in an exclusive&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-navy-seal-who-killed-bin-laden-is-reportedly-going-to-reveal-himself-to-the-world-2014-10" target="_blank">two-part documentary</a>&nbsp;called "The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden."&nbsp;</p>
<p>Doocy was introduced to O'Neill through a third party source a few months after the raid on Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The two first met at an Irish pub in Pentagon City in 2012. After Doocy gained O'Neill's trust, the ex-SEAL agreed to reveal his identity and speak on camera.</p>
<p>To ensure no one within Fox would learn of the huge scoop, Doocy's team <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-kept-robert-oneill-bin-laden-shooter-a-secret-2014-11" target="_blank">created a code name</a> for the project.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"If we had to book travel or if we had to order a camera crew we gave it a code name and that code was Gatewood," Doocy said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The team chose this name to pay homage to the Army commander&nbsp;Charles Gatewood who&nbsp;helped capture Apache leader&nbsp;Geronimo in 1886. "Geronimo" was the code word the SEALs used on the night of the Bin Laden raid to confirm the country's most wanted man was dead.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5462c322ecad04ff76dc66dd-768-576/rob-oneill-fox-news-2.png" border="0" alt="rob oneill fox news" width="480">When asked to describe O'Neill, Doocy used words like "patriot" and "warrior."</p>
<p>"He is one of the best this country has to offer. He is an all-American guy and I hope people will see that when they watch this two-night segment," Doocy said.</p>
<p>Two days after Fox News announced plans for the documentary, SOFREP, a&nbsp;military blog,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/report-the-navy-seal-who-shot-bin-laden-has-been-identified-2014-11">revealed O'Neill's identity</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, Doocy told Business Insider he doesn't think the blog stole his thunder.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"It really just confirms what we have known all along that there is a lot of interest in this story. In the Rob O'Neill story," Doocy said. "Obviously his name is out there and his picture is out there now and a lot of other stuff is too. Some of the stuff out there now is true, and some of it is not. We are the only ones that he sat down with on camera to explain his story and it's his own words and the way he tells it is so good."</p>
<p>A Defense Department spokeswoman, gave&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-statement-on-navy-seal-and-fox-news-2014-10">a statement to Business Insider</a>, &nbsp;in which she said former SEALs were bound by military non-disclosure agreements and could face criminal charges for revealing information about the stealth raid. The spokeswoman specifically said SEALs were prohibited from revealing the names of any participants, which remain classified.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Fox News subsequently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/report-the-navy-seal-who-shot-bin-laden-has-been-identified-2014-11">provided a statement to Business Insider</a> indicating the government had not attempted to block the documentary.</p>
<p>"FOX News has not been contacted by the Department of Defense or any other government agency expressing concern about 'The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden' special and we have every intention of airing it as planned on November 11th and 12th," the Fox News spokesperson said.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-reporter-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/seal-who-says-he-shot-osama-thinks-his-life-is-in-danger-2014-11The Navy SEAL Who Shot Bin Laden Thinks His Life Is In Dangerhttp://www.businessinsider.com/seal-who-says-he-shot-osama-thinks-his-life-is-in-danger-2014-11
Wed, 12 Nov 2014 23:55:00 -0500Hunter Walker and Amanda Macias
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/546445746da811e232d2229f-840-547/oneill-3.jpg" border="0" alt="oneill at 9/11 memorial"></p><p>Robert O'Neill, the former Navy SEAL who says he shot Osama Bin Laden believes his life could be threatened now that he has gone public with his story.</p>
<p>He discussed the potential danger <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11">during the second half of Fox News' two part documentary "The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden,"</a> which premiered Wednesday night.</p>
<p>"Are you worried about your personal security?" Fox News reporter Peter Doocy asked O'Neill,&nbsp;</p>
<p>"Yes," O'Neill said.</p>
<p>O'Neill went on to say he was worried because of potential fallout from the documentary, in which he told the tale of the 2011 raid on Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"I don't know how people will react to this," said O'Neill. "I think all the guys ... all the guys on the mission, there could be a threat, yes."</p>
<p>O'Neill first shared his story <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313">in an Esquire interview published last year</a>. In that article, his wife, from whom O'Neill is officially separated, discussed how she wanted to distance herself from him "for safety reasons."</p>
<p>"We're actually looking into changing my name," she said. "Changing the kids' names, taking my husband's name off the house, paying off our cars. Essentially deleting him from our lives, but for safety reasons. We still love each other."</p>
<p>O'Neill was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/report-the-navy-seal-who-shot-bin-laden-has-been-identified-2014-11">first identified by the website SOFREP</a> on Nov. 3, days after Fox News announced plans to air the documentary. SOFREP released his name after&nbsp;two leaders of&nbsp;US Naval Special Warfare Command&nbsp;sent a letter to their team members criticizing any SEAL who would go public about a mission.&nbsp;</p>
<p><img class="float_left" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/545bbb676bb3f7c63577a96b-1200-1091/rob oneill.jpg" border="0" alt="rob oneill navy seal">After Fox News issued a press release about the documentary, the Pentagon also gave a pair of statements to Business Insider wherein they <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-responds-to-robert-oneill-2014-11">suggested O'Neill could face criminal charges</a> for discussing the details of the Bin Laden raid.&nbsp;</p>
<p>In the Fox News interview, O'Neill also discussed the possibility the military could be "upset" by his decision to tell his story.</p>
<p>"There’s going to be people that are upset because you can’t do anything without upsetting some people," he said. "I don’t know why that is. I don’t believe that I’m saying anything that hasn’t been said, and confirmed, and acknowledged by high ranking officials."</p>
<p>O'Neill isn't the first SEAL who participated in the raid to discuss details of the mission. In 2012, Matt Bissonette released a book about his participation in the raid.&nbsp;Earlier this summer, the Justice Department&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-mark-bissonnette-investigation-2014-10">launched a criminal investigation</a>&nbsp;into whether Bissonette leaked classified material.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"If classified information is accidentally released to the world, SEALs can get killed, innocent people can get killed, other American military people can get killed. That's what this is all about," co-author of Navy SEALs: Their Untold Story, William Doyle said in an <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/who-shot-bin-laden-tale-two-seals-n241241" target="_blank">interview with NBC News</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p><span>Currently, both Bissonette and O'Neill face scorn from their Navy SEAL counterparts.</span></p>
<p class="p1">"I don’t feel like the Navy owes me anything. I don’t feel like I owe the Navy anything. My only regret is that, I miss my guys,” O’Neill said.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1"><span>After the Bin Laden raid, O'Neill went on his 12th and final deployment with the Navy SEALs and decided he wanted "a clean break" from the military community. O'Neill has been touring the nation as a motivational speaker.</span></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-who-says-he-shot-bin-laden-says-the-team-got-him-2014-11" >Navy SEAL Who Says He Shot Bin Laden Says 'The Team Got Him'</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/seal-who-says-he-shot-osama-thinks-his-life-is-in-danger-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-rob-oneill-it-felt-like-we-werent-going-to-come-back-from-the-bin-laden-operation-2014-11Navy SEAL Rob O'Neill: The Bin Laden Operation Felt Like A 'One-Way' Suicide Missionhttp://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-rob-oneill-it-felt-like-we-werent-going-to-come-back-from-the-bin-laden-operation-2014-11
Wed, 12 Nov 2014 10:37:00 -0500Harrison Jacobs
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/54637a52ecad04765ea12574-1014-761/rob-oneill-4.png" border="0" alt="rob oneill"></p><p>Former Navy SEAL and member of Seal Team Six, Robert O'Neill <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-describes-the-moment-he-shot-osama-bin-laden-2014-11">recently gave an exclusive interview with Fox News,</a> in which he told his story of the days and weeks leading up to the May 2011 raid on Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden's compound. </p>
<p>One of the most interesting things to come out of that conversation is O'Neill's assertion that he and his fellow SEALs thought that they were essentially going on a suicide mission. </p>
<p>Here's what O'Neill had to say:</p>
<p>"The more we trained on it, the more we realised this is going to be a one-way mission. We're going to go and we're not going to come back. We're going to die when the house blows up. We're going to die when he blows up or were going to be there too long and we'll get arrested by the Pakistanis and<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"> we're going to spend the rest of our short lives in Pakistan prison."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Fox News’ Peter Doocy <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/11/12/navy-seal-who-shot-usama-bin-laden-revealed-in-exclusive-fox-news-interview/">asked O'Neill what it was like to train for a mission</a> he didn't think he would come back from. O'Neill was unequivocal. </span></p>
<p>"It was worth it because this is it. We would have moments where we would joke around and laugh and then it kind of hits you and you go, 'Alright, let's get serious again cause this is going to happen. Were not coming home ... No [it was not a sad feeling]. It was more of 'we're going to die eventually. This is a good way to go and it's worth it to kill him, because he's going to die with us.'" </p>
<h3>Check out the full video here. O'Neill talks about the mission being a suicide mission at the 5:00 mark:</h3>
<div><div>
<iframe width="800" height="450" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RCQ_rK194QI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
</div></div>
<p class="embed-spacer"></p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-rob-oneill-it-felt-like-we-werent-going-to-come-back-from-the-bin-laden-operation-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-describes-the-moment-he-shot-osama-bin-laden-2014-11Navy SEAL Describes The Moment He Says He Shot Osama Bin Ladenhttp://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-describes-the-moment-he-shot-osama-bin-laden-2014-11
Wed, 12 Nov 2014 08:39:00 -0500Pamela Engel
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5463609aeab8ea9c48a12570-480-/rob-oneill-fox-news-3.png" border="0" alt="rob oneill fox news" width="480"></p><p>In an exclusive interview with Fox News, the Navy SEAL who says he shot Osama bin Laden <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2829616/I-m-trying-figure-s-best-thing-did-worst-thing-did-Rob-O-Neill-says-s-haunted-night-killed-Osama-Bin-Laden.html?ito=social-twitter_dailymailus">described looking into the Al Qaeda leader's eyes</a> before he killed him.</p>
<p>Former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill, who has come forward publicly to speak about the May 2011 raid on bin Laden's compound in <span>Abbottabad, </span>Pakistan, said he was probably the last person bin Laden saw.</p>
<p>"He was standing there two feet in front of me, hand on his wife, the face I’ve seen thousands of times," O'Neill said. "I thought, 'We got him, we just ended the war.'"</p>
<p>O'Neill said bin Laden looked him in the eyes before O'Neill shot him dead. He says he was the first member of the SEAL team to enter bin Laden's bedroom the night of the raid.</p>
<p>Bin Laden reportedly tried to shield himself with his youngest wife before he was shot.</p>
<p>The raid ended a decade-long manhunt for the man who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>"I'm still trying to figure out if it's the best thing I ever did, or the worst thing I ever did," O'Neill said.</p>
<p>O'Neill's participation in the raid has led to some long-term consequences, <a href="http://www.esquire.com/features/man-who-shot-osama-bin-laden-0313">which he detailed to Esquire (which didn't name him) last year</a>. He is separated from his wife and is struggling to pay bills.</p>
<p>There has been some dispute over who really fired the shot that killed bin Laden. An anonymous source who claims to be close to another member of the SEAL team that carried out the raid&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-who-shot-bin-laden-former-us-navy-seals-make-rival-claims-2014-11">said O'Neill did not fire the fatal shot</a>.</p>
<p>SOFREP, a website that covers national security and US special operations forces,&nbsp;<a href="http://sofrep.com/37850/bin-ladens-shooter-identified-rob-oneill/">reported</a>&nbsp;that two leaders of&nbsp;US Naval Special Warfare Command sent a letter to their team members on Oct. 31, two days after the Fox interview was announced, wherein they attacked any SEAL who would violate their "ethos" and talk about a mission in public.</p>
<p>Here's the video of O'Neill's interview with Fox:</p>
<p><iframe width="853" height="480" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/RCQ_rK194QI?rel=0"></iframe></p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seals-wrote-letters-to-his-family-before-the-bin-laden-raid-2014-11#ixzz3IrS01Uao" >The Navy SEAL Who Allegedly Shot Bin Laden Described The Letters He Wrote To His Children Before Leaving On The Raid</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-describes-the-moment-he-shot-osama-bin-laden-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seals-wrote-letters-to-his-family-before-the-bin-laden-raid-2014-11The Navy SEAL Who Allegedly Shot Bin Laden Described The Letters He Wrote To His Children Before Leaving On The Raidhttp://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seals-wrote-letters-to-his-family-before-the-bin-laden-raid-2014-11
Tue, 11 Nov 2014 23:49:00 -0500Amanda Macias and Hunter Walker
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/5462b4996bb3f7e02bdc66dd-600-/rob%20oneill%20fox%20news.png" border="0" alt="rob oneill fox news" width="600"></p><p></p>
<p>Robert O'Neill, the former Navy SEAL who says he shot and killed Osama Bin Laden told Fox News in an interview broadcast Tuesday evening that he wrote letters to his loved ones before leaving on the 2011 raid on the Al Qaeda leader's compound.&nbsp;</p>
<p>O'Neill explained he wrote the letters because he thought the "chances of dying" during the raid "were really high." In the event he didn't return, he said he wanted his family to know "why it had to happen" and that he was participating in "the most important mission since Washington crossed the Delaware."</p>
<p>"And it was worth it, you know, I'm sorry that you're upset, but I died with the people I should have died with," O'Neill said. "It was sad, you know, there was a few times when tears were hitting the pages."</p>
<p>O'Neill's letters also included advice for his young children.</p>
<div>
<p>"I talked about their weddings, you know, wishing them happiness, take care of their mom," said O'Neill. "There were some apologies in there for, you know, sorry I'm not around."</p>
<p>O'Neill's interview with Fox News is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11">filmed for a two-part exclusive documentary</a>. The second half is scheduled to air on Wednesday evening.</p>
<p>After the raid was successful and O'Neill returned home with his fellow SEALs, he destroyed the letters.</p>
<p>"The first thing I did when I got home was shred them and I — I don't know if I'm happy about that, but they're gone," he said. "I didn't want to read them again. I didn't want anybody reading them."</p>
<p>O'Neill told Fox News reporter Peter Doocy he destroyed the letters because they were written in case he died and "it didn't happen."</p>
<div>"Instead of something horrible happening, something great happened," said O'Neill.</div>
<div></div>
<p>After writing the letters, O'Neill had one more final message to send. Just before leaving on the highly classified raid, he called his father.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"I was actually in my gear getting ready to launch on something I couldn't tell him," O'Neill recounted. "I called him to say goodbye and thanks for everything."</p>
<p>In the conclusion of the first part of the Fox News broadcast O'Neill also described his feelings as he boarded the helicopter that took him to Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"I can only imagine it's like the feeling in the tunnel for an NFL player before he's about to run on the field in front of 100,000 people. It was like, it is time to do my job," said O'Neill.&nbsp;</p>
<p>O'Neill also discussed what was on his mind after the SEALs took off.</p>
<p>"We got in the helicopters. We launched," O'Neill said. "We were the end. We were the fists. We were the FDNY. We were the NYPD. We were the American people."</p>
<p>O'Neill has said he decided to go public about his role in the raid after <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seal-robert-oneill-told-his-story-to-911-families-2014-11">speaking to a group of families of people who were killed in the September 11th attacks</a> at a memorial earlier this year. However, some of his fellow SEALs have <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-who-shot-bin-laden-former-us-navy-seals-make-rival-claims-2014-11">reportedly cast doubt on his claims</a>. The Pentagon has also suggested he <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-responds-to-robert-oneill-2014-11">could face criminal charges for revealing classified information</a>.&nbsp;</p>
</div><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11" >How A 27-Year-Old Reporter Landed An Interview With The Alleged Bin Laden Shooter</a></strong></p>
<p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/navy-seals-wrote-letters-to-his-family-before-the-bin-laden-raid-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11How A 27-Year-Old Reporter Landed An Interview With The Alleged Bin Laden Shooterhttp://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11
Tue, 11 Nov 2014 22:34:00 -0500Amanda Macias
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5462bb156da811a070cb38f2-839-629/peter-doocy.jpg" border="0" alt="peter doocy"></span>In the late hours of May 1, 2011 news broke that US security forces killed&nbsp;Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden&nbsp;and Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, ran out of his apartment in Washington D.C. &nbsp;</p>
<p>"I got down to the White House and just celebrated on Pennsylvania Avenue late on a Sunday night with thousands of people and it was a night that I will never forget. Everyone just shared this great feeling of, we got him," Doocy told Business Insider in an interview.</p>
<p>Almost three and a half years later, Doocy, 27, uncovered the identity of the man who said he fired the fatal shot, former Navy SEAL Robert O'Neill. Doocy managed to land the first televised interview with O'Neill, which is being broadcast on Fox News Tuesday and Wednesday night this week in an exclusive&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-navy-seal-who-killed-bin-laden-is-reportedly-going-to-reveal-himself-to-the-world-2014-10" target="_blank">two-part documentary</a>&nbsp;called "The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden."&nbsp;</p>
<p>Doocy was introduced to O'Neill through a third party source a few months after the raid on Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The two first met at an Irish pub in Pentagon City in 2012. After Doocy gained O'Neill's trust, the ex-SEAL agreed to reveal his identity and speak on camera.</p>
<p>To ensure no one within Fox would learn of the huge scoop, Doocy's team <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-kept-robert-oneill-bin-laden-shooter-a-secret-2014-11" target="_blank">created a code name</a> for the project.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"If we had to book travel or if we had to order a camera crew we gave it a code name and that code was Gatewood," Doocy said.&nbsp;</p>
<p>The team chose this name to pay homage to the Army commander&nbsp;Charles Gatewood who&nbsp;helped capture Apache leader&nbsp;Geronimo in 1886. "Geronimo" was the code word the SEALs used on the night of the Bin Laden raid to confirm the country's most wanted man was dead.</p>
<p><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/5462c322ecad04ff76dc66dd-768-576/rob-oneill-fox-news-2.png" border="0" alt="rob oneill fox news" width="480">When asked to describe O'Neill, Doocy used words like "patriot" and "warrior."</p>
<p>"He is one of the best this country has to offer. He is an all-American guy and I hope people will see that when they watch this two-night segment," Doocy said.</p>
<p>Two days after Fox News announced plans for the documentary, SOFREP, a&nbsp;military blog,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/report-the-navy-seal-who-shot-bin-laden-has-been-identified-2014-11">revealed O'Neill's identity</a>.&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, Doocy told Business Insider he doesn't think the blog stole his thunder.&nbsp;</p>
<p>"It really just confirms what we have known all along that there is a lot of interest in this story. In the Rob O'Neill story," Doocy said. "Obviously his name is out there and his picture is out there now and a lot of other stuff is too. Some of the stuff out there now is true, and some of it is not. We are the only ones that he sat down with on camera to explain his story and it's his own words and the way he tells it is so good."</p>
<p>A Defense Department spokeswoman, gave&nbsp;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-statement-on-navy-seal-and-fox-news-2014-10">a statement to Business Insider</a>, &nbsp;in which she said former SEALs were bound by military non-disclosure agreements and could face criminal charges for revealing information about the stealth raid. The spokeswoman specifically said SEALs were prohibited from revealing the names of any participants, which remain classified.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Fox News subsequently <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/report-the-navy-seal-who-shot-bin-laden-has-been-identified-2014-11">provided a statement to Business Insider</a> indicating the government had not attempted to block the documentary.</p>
<p>"FOX News has not been contacted by the Department of Defense or any other government agency expressing concern about 'The Man Who Killed Osama Bin Laden' special and we have every intention of airing it as planned on November 11th and 12th," the Fox News spokesperson said.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-story-behind-fox-news-bin-laden-shooter-interview-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/panetta-this-is-how-the-bin-laden-raid-went-down-2014-11A Former US Defense Secretary Explains How The Bin Laden Raid Went Down http://www.businessinsider.com/panetta-this-is-how-the-bin-laden-raid-went-down-2014-11
Tue, 11 Nov 2014 19:15:00 -0500Amanda Macias
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/5462a4fbeab8ea0549dc66dd-1121-841/obama-panetta-situation-room-1.jpg" border="0" alt="obama panetta situation room">In his memoir </span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"></span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worthy-Fights-Memoir-Leadership-Peace/dp/1594205965" target="_blank">Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace</a><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">, f</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">ormer Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta describes the stealth 2011 assault on Osama bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Panetta had a unique vantage point on the raid, which he watched remotely from the CIA's headquarters in L</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">angley, Virginia.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span>One of the first hiccups was the accidental crash landing of one of two SEAL helicopters as they arrived at the compound at approximately 12:30 a.m. local time (3:30 p.m. &nbsp;EST). The SEALS transitioned to a backup helicopter and, as we all know, they were able to carry out the rest of the mission. The disabled chopper, which lay in an animal pen, was later blown up after the successful capture of Bin Laden.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5462a248ecad04e573dc66e0-1200-800/rtr2lwtl.jpg" border="0" alt="aerial view of bin laden compound"></span>According to Panetta, the following is what&nbsp;happened once the SEALs entered Bin Laden's home:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">Between the second and third floors, a bearded young man whom the assaulters recognized as Khalid bin Laden, bin Laden's son, was shot and killed. As the SEALs moved to the third floor, a tall, bearded man poked his head out of a doorway. A member of our team, recognizing him instantly, shot at him and missed. The man disappeared back into the room, and an AK-47 was visible in the doorjamb. Team members moved towards the door.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">As they moved inside the room, two young girls and an adult woman rushed the SEALs. Our operator grabbed the girls and shoved them to the side as they screamed in fear. One woman shouted at the man upstairs, calling him "sheikh." Our team members saw the bearded man and shot him twice, once above the left eye and once in the chest. A woman in the room, whom we later learned was bin Laden's third wife, was shot in the leg, but not seriously wounded.</p>
<p>All of this took about 15 minutes. The time in Pakistan was approximately 1 a.m. local time (3:51 p.m. EST) when Navy Admiral McRaven <span>Commander of SEAL Team 6 relayed word to the remote security team that there was a preliminary call of "Geronimo," which was the code word for the&nbsp;</span><span>successful killing or capture of Bin Laden.</span></p>
<p><span><span>"I was not clear in that moment whether that meant we had taken Bin Laden prisoner or killed him. I asked for confirmation. Geronimo, he repeated. E.K.I.A. Enemy Killed in Action. A few moments later, the SEALs reappeared on the screen, six of them dragging a body bag to the helicopter," Panetta wrote.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5462a1bcecad040f73dc66db-1200-858/rtr2mc0f.jpg" border="0" alt="situation room bin laden death"></span></span>According to Panetta, the news the SEALs had taken out the world's most wanted man wasn't followed by "high-fiving" or "triumphant whoops."</p>
<p><span><span>"Our men were still deep in Pakistan, surrounded by danger, a long way from home and the situation on the ground was growing more tense and complicated by the minute. The explosions and gunfire from the compound had begun to draw the attention of our neighbors, and they came into the street, some venturing toward our forces," Panetta wrote.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Once all the SEALs boarded the Chinook helicopter with Bin Laden's corpse, they began taking DNA samples to confirm his identity while en route to Jalalabad, Afghanistan. At this point, the mission was three hours in and the SEALs now faced the critical and grave task of making sure they did in fact kill Bin Laden.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Panetta revealed everything didn't exactly go smoothly as they attempted to confirm they killed the Al Qaeda leader:</span></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="padding-left: 30px;"><span class="Apple-tab-span"></span>A team member took photographs of his face, immediately subjecting them to photo authentication. Others tried to measure the corpse, but no one had thought to bring along a tape measure—proof that no matter how much anyone plans, some thing is always forgotten. Instead a member of the team who was just over 6-feet tall lay down beside the body and determined that it was a few inches taller than he.<span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><br></span></p>
<p class="p1" style="padding-left: 30px;">All that took less than half an hour, and at 6:20 p.m. McRaven declared that there was a "high probability" that it was Bin Laden. The DNA samples from the corpse later would establish beyond any doubt that we had in fact killed Osama bin Laden.&nbsp;</p>
<p class="p1">Panetta subsequently packed up his team and drove to the White House to meet the rest of President Obama's security administration. He entered the Situation Room where the president said, "Great job. Everyone at the CIA who worked on this deserves the nation's thanks."</p>
<p class="p1"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/5462a4d269bedd3c6adc66db-1200-924/rtr2lvq9.jpg" border="0" alt="obama bin laden speech">Obama then began discussing the logistics of announcing the mission to the world. Turning to Panetta, Obama reportedly said, "Today, anything you say I'm prone to agree with. But we have to get this right. I want us to have thought through everything."</p>
<p class="p1">Meanwhile, Bin Laden's body was was prepared according to Muslim tradition and was placed in a heavy black bag along with 300-pounds of iron chains to ensure the body would sink after it was dropped into the ocean.</p>
<p class="p1">Shortly after 11:30 p.m., President Obama addressed the nation and announced the death of Osama bin Laden.&nbsp;</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/panetta-this-is-how-the-bin-laden-raid-went-down-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> http://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-kept-robert-oneill-bin-laden-shooter-a-secret-2014-11Here's How Fox News Tried To Keep 'The Man Who Shot Bin Laden' A Secrethttp://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-kept-robert-oneill-bin-laden-shooter-a-secret-2014-11
Tue, 11 Nov 2014 09:31:00 -0500Amanda Macias
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><img class="center" src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/545ea4e56bb3f70710487f8a-840-538/bin laden oneill.png" border="0" alt="bin laden oneill">The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-navy-seal-who-killed-bin-laden-is-reportedly-going-to-reveal-himself-to-the-world-2014-10" target="_blank">two-part Fox News documentary</a>&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"The Man&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">Who Killed Osama Bin Laden," airing today, was given a code name to ensure no one within Fox would learn of the huge scoop of the alleged Navy SEAL "Shooter" who killed Bin Laden.&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">The code name? "Gatewood."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>"If we had to book travel or if we had to order a camera crew we gave it a code name and that code was Gatewood," Washington C<span>orrespondent Peter Doocy told Business Insider in an interview.&nbsp;</span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Why Gatewood?</span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><img style="float:right;" src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/546219dfecad04e151bca64e-800-936/gatewood.jpg" border="0" alt="charles gatewood"><span>Doocy's team wanted to pay homage to Army commander <span>Charles Gatewood who&nbsp;</span>helped capture Apache leader&nbsp;</span>Geronimo in 1886.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">On the early morning raid of Bin Laden's Abbottabad compound, Commander of SEAL Team 6&nbsp;<span>Admiral William McRaven relayed word to the CIA that the team had sent a preliminary call of "Geronimo," the code word for the&nbsp;</span></span><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">successful killing or capture of Bin Laden. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">"I was not clear in that moment whether that mean we had taken Bin Laden prisoner or killed him. I asked for confirmation. Geronimo, he repeated. E.K.I.A" Enemy Killed in Action. A few moments later, the SEALs reappeared on the screen, six of them dragging a body bag to the helicopter," Leon Panetta wrote in his memoir "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Worthy-Fights-Memoir-Leadership-Peace/dp/1594205965" target="_blank">Worthy Fights: A Memoir Of Leadership In War And Peace</a>."&nbsp;</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>After the&nbsp;<span>documentary was announced, a Defense Department spokeswoman&nbsp;</span><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/pentagon-statement-on-navy-seal-and-fox-news-2014-10">gave a statement to Business Insider</a><span>&nbsp;in which she said former SEALs were bound by military non-disclosure agreements and could face criminal charges for revealing information about the raid.</span><span><br></span></span></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;"><span>Fox News will broadcast "The Man&nbsp;</span><span>Who Killed Osama Bin Laden," over Tuesday and Wednesday at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.&nbsp;</span></span></p>
<noscript>Watch the latest video at &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://video.foxnews.com"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;video.foxnews.com&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;</noscript><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/fox-news-kept-robert-oneill-bin-laden-shooter-a-secret-2014-11#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>